Cam Newton reveals how badly he was limited by shoulder injury

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton underwent surgery on his troublesome shoulder last month, and the injury was apparently bothering him a lot more than people thought late in the season.

Newton said this week that he was unable to throw the ball more than 30 yards down the field by the end of the 2018 season. He says defenses recognized that and exploited it.

Cam says he couldn't throw further than 30 yards by the time his season ended. "I felt like defenses was exposing me because they knew I couldn’t throw the ball downfield." Surgery was to clean up everything in the shoulder joint from the labrum to the rotator cuff. https://t.co/Ld9ZO7yEcp

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 7, 2019

Newton threw just two touchdowns compared to six interceptions over the final three games he played in, and the Panthers eventually decided to shut him down. Now we know why. If the former Auburn star couldn’t throw the ball more than 30 yards, it makes sense that he was subbed out on this play.

The procedure Newton underwent was arthroscopic surgery, so he should be ready well in advance of training camp. But given his history with injuries to his throwing shoulder, nothing is a guarantee.