Just call it a home Cam’ing

WHO SAYS you can’t come home? Cam Newton returned home to Carolina last week when the Panthers signed him, and on Sunday he gets to play against his former Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera, who now coaches the Washington Football Team.

Newton, who played for the Patriots last season, was signed to a one-year contract by the Panthers when Sam Darnold landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Sunday will mark the first time Newton’s will start for the Panthers since Sept. 12, 2019, when Carolina lost to the Buccaneers, 20-14. He played for the Panthers from 2011-19.

Last Sunday in a stunning 34-10 upset victory at Arizona, who entered the game with an 8-1 record, Panthers coach Matt Rhule inserted Newton for eight plays, and he made an immediate impact — completing three of four passes for 8 yards and a touchdown and rushing three times for 14 yards and a touchdown.

Newton scored TDs on his first two snaps, which made him the first quarterback in the past 30 years to run for a TD on his first rush of the season and throw a TD his first pass of the season. They also gave Carolina an early 14-0 lead.

“I’m just floating at an all-timehigh frequency,’’ Newton told reporters after the game. “It’s almost scary.’’

Newton’s return to the Panthers was, indeed, a euphoric one.

Now comes the hard part: Helping 5-5 Carolina make the playoffs as its starter again. Newton is 7-16 as a starter in his past 23 starts, which includes losing his last eight with the Panthers and a 7-8 record in New England last season.

When Rivera was asked last week if he has ways to game-plan his former quarterback he said, “Yes, actually I do, to be honest with you.”

Newton is so fired up about his return to Carolina he’s giving away 50 tickets for Sunday’s game to Charlotte-area fans who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to the game.

“This Sunday is important for us,” Newton told reporters. “We need to reclaim Bank of America Stadium.’’