ESPN is parting ways with Cam Newton, multiple sources told OutKick.The network will include Newton in a round of layoffs that could be announced as soon as Tuesday. OutKick reported Monday that NFL analyst Ryan Clark would be among the on-air employees let go.ESPN featured Newton over the past two seasons as a debate partner for Stephen A. Smith on “First Take.” ESPN analyst Cam Newton appears on the set of “First Take” in San Francisco, Calif. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)Last season, the network elevated Newton to replace Shannon Sharpe as Smith’s primary Monday co-host during football season, the show’s highest-rated day of the week.Sources say ESPN will look for a permanent replacement for Newton on the Monday editions of the show.Newton and Smith engaged in a public back-and-forth last spring after Newton invited Jason Whitlock, whom Smith has said he “hates with a passion,” onto his podcast.Smith criticized Newton for not defending him when Whitlock cited what he described as fabrications in Smith’s 2023 memoir.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMSIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWSNewton responded that he didn’t challenge Whitlock because, in his view, there was “nothing to correct.”CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPIn any event, Smith will be without his two main analysts during the football season in Newton and Clark. Cam Newton, Shannon Sharpe, Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith attend ESPN First Take at Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 8, 2024. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)This is a breaking news story. Check back to OutKick for more news and analysis. Bobby Burack is a writer for OutKick.
