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How cooking brought Leonard Johnson and Cam Newton together

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Leonard Johnson lived in a hotel for two months this summer and was homesick -- not so much for friends and family but for a place to cook.

Outside of football, working in front of a hot stove is his biggest passion.

So the defensive back, who signed a one-year contract to join the Panthers in July after stints with Tampa Bay and New England, began asking teammates if he could come to their homes and prepare a meal. Some took him seriously, some didn’t.

Then he approached Cam Newton.