Cam Newton has been an unrestricted free agent since March 16, 2022, and the former NFL MVP said a team hadn’t called him in “two years” about playing.

During an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Tuesday, the former Auburn All-American said he had “a lot of interest” in playing again, but he had not reached out to NFL teams.

“I know it doesn’t matter how many times you call, if they don’t want you, they’re not going to pick up,” Newton said, “so at the end of the day, I’ve known the NFL to do and be very intentional in what they do. It’s no manipulation. It’s no swing. It doesn’t matter if I call them if they don’t want me.”

After winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to an undefeated record and the BCS national championship for the 2010 season, Newton entered the NFL as the first pick in the 2011 draft.

Newton helped the Carolina Panthers win three NFC South titles over the next eight seasons while becoming the franchise’s all-time passing leader, winning the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Award and scoring the bulk of his NFL quarterback record 75 touchdowns runs.

After a foot injury limited Newton to two games in the 2019 season, Carolina cut the quarterback the following offseason even though he had a year remaining on his contract.

Newton started 15 games for the New England Patriots in 2020. But in 2021, New England released Newton after he started every preseason game when the Patriots chose to go with first-round draft choice Mac Jones as their No. 1 quarterback.

Newton was out of football when Carolina brought him back with Sam Darnold sidelined by an injury during the 2021 season. Three days after signing with the Panthers, Newton played nine snaps and produced two touchdowns in a 34-10 upset of the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 14.

Newton started the next five games before Darnold returned for the final two.

Other teams have had quarterback issues this season similar to Carolina’s in 2021, including the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.

Newton said he didn’t know why he wasn’t still in the NFL.

“You’re guess is as best as mine,” Newton said.

Newton threw to receivers at Auburn’s pro day on March 21, and, in April, he named 12 quarterbacks he’d be willing to back up, including four who have been sidelined by injuries this season – the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, the Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson, the New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers and the Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson.

Newton said there could be something to the idea that he’s too big a personality to fit in comfortably as a backup, at least from the team’s standpoint.

“What do you say to a Dak Prescott, what do you say to a Derek Carr, what do you say to a healthy Deshaun Watson, what do you say to, at that particular point in time, Zach Wilson?” Newton said. “Cam Newton’s coming in town.”

Newton isn’t sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. He stocks his YouTube channel with regular content, including “Fourth-and-1,” which has a new football-centric episode every Wednesday.

“I’m really locked in and focused on the things that I can control right now,” Newton said.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.