A shoulder injury held Cam Newton back in 2018. But he’s ready to play his best football yet in 2019.
The Carolina Panthers started out the year strong. But after reaching a 6-2 record, their season took a turn for the worst. They finished the year 7-9, including seven consecutive losses between Weeks 10 and 16. Part of the reason for their decline was an injury to superstar quarterback Cam Newton that didn’t sideline him, but left him struggling to make big plays.
In a new YouTube series, Newton details how tough it was playing through his injury.
“I was weak, and I felt so vulnerable. I felt so scared,” Newton said. “I felt so afraid because I know I wasn’t myself. I didn’t know what was wrong with my shoulder. I just knew that it hurt, and I knew there was an issue. I couldn’t throw the ball further than 30 yards, no lie. So I was trying to keep up with it as much as possible until the wheels fell off.
In his last six games of the season, Newton attempted just 16 passes that were more than 20 yards in the air. He completed four of them and threw three interceptions. Newton also missed the last two games of the season.
Newton is approaching 30 years old, and over the last few seasons, he’s dealt with both back and shoulder problems. A surgery on Jan. 24th revealed that the damage to Newton’s shoulder wasn’t as bad as it could have been. And the Panthers are optimistic that he will be ready to start the 2019 season.
After struggling so much in 2018, Newton’s determined to have his best season yet in 2019.
“So here I am, in this position where a lot of people are saying ‘They’ve seen the best of Cam Newton,’” Newton said. “Seeing the doubt, hearing the whispers of “He don’t got it no more,” fuels me. That’s what makes this comeback even more extraordinary for me. I feel this is going to make me even more dangerous. When it’s all said and done, I can look back in my life and I know that this particular time in my life propelled me to that next point. I’m excited for what the future holds.”