‘Old man’ Newman continues search for super satisfaction

Terence Newman turned 38 in September. The Minnesota Vikings cornerback is in his 14th season, at least a handful of seasons longer than the Cowboys thought he might last.

Yet, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who has coached Newman for eight seasons, refers to Newman as “a kid.”

“I’m sorry,” Zimmer said. “I call him old man to his face, but I call him kid to everyone else.”

Newman arrived in Dallas in 2003 as the prize in a rookie class that included Jason Witten, Tony Romo and Bradie James. The No. 5 overall pick served as Bill Parcells’ personal water boy at training camp, an annual rookie tradition the Hall of Fame coach demanded of the team’s top pick.

“That’s still home,” Newman said of DFW. “I still have my house there. And yeah those guys [Romo and Witten], I mean we shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears together. I love those guys.”

Newman twice made the Pro Bowl while starting 131 of 133 career games with the Cowboys. But scheduled to count $8.016 million against the salary cap in 2012 and coming off a season that owner Jerry Jones openly questioned Newman’s declining play, the Cowboys released him.

“I didn’t play very well my last year, and that’s why I wasn’t a member of the Cowboys anymore,” Newman said. “But I take ownership in that.”

Newman has started 64 games in the five seasons since – three with the Bengals and two with the Vikings. If he’s not getting better with age, he’s gotten smarter.

“Obviously, I’m not physically the same,” Newman said. “I think I ran a 4.3 or something coming in. I’m probably like 4.39 now. I was probably a little quicker. I was more like Cole Beasley back then, but now I’m not as quick as I used to be. But where I lack just pure speed and quickness, I kind of try and make up for the mental part of it – understanding where I’m going to be attacked and how I’m going to be attacked and knowing our defense.”

Newman, who has 26 tackles, seven pass breakups and an interception this season, credits his longevity to a “blessing.” He has avoided any serious injuries.

Newman knows the end is near, admitted few teams chase 38-year-old, free agent defensive backs. But Hall of Famer Darrell Green turned 42 during his last season in the league.

Newman likely needs at least one more year to finish his career the way he wants, with what he wants.

“That guy [Green] is very special, and I do not think I have Darrell Green in me,” Newman said. “But I’ve still got some tread on my tires.

“My goal, I don’t play for money. I want a Super Bowl. For me, that’s kind of the hot girl that you see, you try to talk to and she just doesn’t really respond, and she doesn’t really want to have anything to do with you at this point. I’m still chasing her.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 4:12 AM with the headline "‘Old man’ Newman continues search for super satisfaction."