Panthers quarterback Cam Newton issued a health update — and did some reflecting — Friday.
Newton went into depth about the effects of his preseason foot injury (he called it a "mild Lisfranc") in a video that was published on his YouTube channel . Speaking directly into a camera, Newton acknowledged that the injury affected him significantly during Carolina's first two regular-season games, both losses.
He said he was "hiding" the injury during those games, which, in turn, made it appear as though he lacked energy. He also said he needed to see for himself that playing at less than 100 percent wasn't good enough and that he had to take time off to heal. (He didn't set a date for his return in the video.)
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"This is not a comfortable position to be in, but it's a position that I have to be in . . . for the betterment of this team, and I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that," he said.
Other points from Newton's monologue:
On not carrying the ball on the game-deciding fourth-down play vs. the Buccaneers in Week 2:
"People are saying, 'Why didn't Cam have the ball in his hands?' And I can honestly say (that) if we had to do a quarterback sneak or if I had to do a quarterback run, I don't know . . . because I would have had to push off my foot." Running back Christian McCaffrey got the carry instead, a reverse from the Tampa Bay 2, and was stopped short.
"For so long I prided myself to say, 'I can get one yard. I'm going to jump over you, I'm going to run through you, I going to run around you,' and I wasn't able to do (either) one," Newton added, "and I think that's the thing that humbled me, is like, 'Cam ain't that player that he used to be.' But my answer to that is, 'Just wait.'"
On playing in that game, knowing he wasn't healthy:
"Coach (Ron Rivera) came up to me and asked me, 'Are you all right? Are you able to play?' . . . and with that 'Superman' title and tag, you feel, 'Naw, coach, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, let me play,' but deep down inside there's that voice that you're hearing: 'You're not as good as you think you are, but you can keep on getting by.' And that's what I've been doing, been getting by."
Newton said he felt "comfort" after Rivera, head trainer Ryan Vermillion and general manager Marty Hurney expressed understanding about him needing time off.
"I was my own worst enemy," he said. "There was no way in the world I should have put myself in that position, but I needed to see it, though, if that makes sense. I needed to see that me at 80 percent is not OK."
On when he knew he wasn't right physically:
"Week 1, as I'm about jog around (the field as part of a pregame ritual), I realize, oh, I can't run. I can't. I would try to jog, I can't do that. So, fast-forward through the game, and I feel like I'm in the game but it's like something's missing.
"I knew things were kind of different when too many people were voicing the same type of concern. It was, like, 'Man, are you all right? Is it your shoulder? We didn't see Cam's mark on that game.' We ended up losing the game and I kept thinking to myself that I'm not able to play this game like I want to." Newton said that his surgically repaired throwing shoulder was not an issue.
On supporting backup Kyle Allen, who will make his second start Sunday vs. the Texans:
"I don't have (any) type of ill will in my spirit to say I wouldn't want 'Lovey' — Kyle — to go out and throw for 500 yards, throw for five touchdowns. And you say, 'Well, you ain't thrown any touchdowns all year,' It's not about that; it's about winning. I don't play this game for personal statistics, I play this game to win, and if we're in the position that we're clicking as a team when I do come back, man, that's what I pray for. . . . I can't stress that enough."
