Cam Newton trolls Josh Downs and Indianapolis Colts using NFL’s disrespect to the franchise ahead of the 2026 NFL season
The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver hosted the former NFL MVP on his podcast, and the latter took his chance to troll player and team alike.
For as controversial as he is in his show, I’ve got to hand it to Cam Newton: he can be pretty fun in his shows. Unfortunately, the latest example came at the expense of wide receiver Josh Downs and the Indianapolis Colts.
And it was a reminder of the NFL’s surprising disrespect to the Colts with its making of the 2026 season.
Newton trolls Colts, Downs with stingy truth
For those of you who don’t know, Josh Downs and his brother Caleb—recently drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys—host a podcast together. On Wednesday, they released a new episode with former NFL MVP Cam Newton as a guest.
Late in the show, Cam asked Caleb what he’s the most excited about regarding his rookie season. He then asked him how many primetime the Cowboys were on, to which Caleb responded “like seven or eight.” For those keeping score at home, the Cowboys play six official primetime games. But if you count their Thanksgiving matchup, you can count it as seven.
That’s when Newton took his chance to take a shot at Josh Downs and his Colts.
“You’re walking into a Netflix special,” Newton told Caleb. “Hey look, Josh over there went to a team that’s barely on Tubi.”
To be honest, it was a hilarious moment. But Newton’s words certainly carry some truth. And Josh Downs knows it. There isn’t a market for the Colts like there is for the Cowboys. It is what it is.
“I see what he’s saying though,” Downs said. “There’s them teams that get all the [publicity] and then there are teams that don’t get as much.”
How many primetime games do the Colts have in 2026?
In contrast to the Cowboys’ six primetime games, the Colts are scheduled to play two night showdowns. Not only that but they get a 9:30 a.m. ET showdown (UK game) and they play at 1 p.m. ET in eight of their first games.
To me, the Colts deserved more national attention and two primetime matchups feels disrespectful by the league. After all, while quarterback Daniel Jones was healthy, Indianapolis was a team to watch. Prior to the bye week, this was an 8-2 squad! Sure, they had a late-season collapse but that had a lot to do with Jones’ season-ending injury in Week 14.
To put the Colts’ two primetime games into context: the only teams with fewer primetime showdowns are the New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders.
Well, I guess it’s less pressure for the Colts. Glass half full, right?