Cam Newton explains why he struggled in recent NFL stints
Aug 22, 2019; Foxborough, MA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) warms up prior to the start of a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Cam Newton remains unemployed with NFL training camps looming, and is somewhat taking ownership of what he thinks is to blame for a rough few seasons.
Newton appeared on “The Pivot Podcast” and discussed his tenure with New England and his return to Carolina. The former MVP said he had put himself in some “f—ed up situations” that led to his poor play.
“I’ll own up to jumping up into some f—ed up situations,” Newton said in the podcast. “The New England experience was a f—ed up situation. I was still learning the offense seven to eight weeks into the season. … There was countless hours with Jedd Fisch, there was countless hours with Josh McDaniels, there was countless hours with so many different people trying to teach me certain things, and it was just brain overload. There was times I’m going to the line and I’m still thinking. Did I know it? Yes. To the degree that I needed to know it in order to show the world that I’m still Cam Newton? No. But I put myself in that situation.
“Carolina, I put myself in another f—ed up situation,” Newton continued. “I was signed on Thursday. I played on Sunday. At what point did you think you were going to be successful? That next week, I started. That’s still under ten days of me being on the team, and you’re still trying to learn an offense. … So before I sit up here and allow the narrative to be made that Cam ain’t got it no more, Cam is taking full responsibility in saying that Cam put himself in a f—ed up situation.”
Newton maintained that he still feels he is one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the league, and essentially said he had been too confident in himself in believing he could walk into the aforementioned situations and be successful.
Newton has something of a point in that he did not set himself up to succeed, especially in his second stint with Carolina. Still, he never really impressed with the Patriots even after a full season within the offense. The fact that New England released him at the end of his second preseason with the team suggests that concerns about his arm more than anything else were a major factor.
The veteran quarterback has only received limited interest from one team that we know of this offseason. He may have to accept that he won’t be a starter, at least initially, if he wants to find a place on a roster.
