No one can question Cam Newton’s commitment to improving this offseason. The Panthers quarterback has a very unique offseason plan.
Cam Newton wants to score a lot of points for the Panthers in 2019. Evidently, he feels like making sure he doesn’t score at all during the month of March will help him do that.
The Panthers’ star quarterback revealed his decision to remain celibate for the entire month to Late Late Show host James Corden this week. According to Newton, it is part of his effort to become “mentally stronger” before the regular season begins.
The more conventional offseason plan Newton must be engaged in is rehabilitating his injured shoulder. If he can’t return next season with the arm strength he displayed before succumbing to injury last year the Panthers are going to find it very difficult to move the ball. Much of their offense is built around Newton’s unique ability to push the ball down the field.
Carolina has made a conscious effort to give Newton more weapons to work with in recent years. Christian McCaffrey is one of the most complete running backs in the NFL. He particularly excels catching passes out of the backfield and turning them into big gains.
Adding D.J. Moore in the first round of last year’s draft finally gave the Panthers a No. 1 wide receiver who can make plays after the catch. His arrival, coupled with the emergence of Curtis Samuel in his second season should give Newton some easier throws moving forward. The Panthers coaching staff is definitely trying to put less stress on Newton’s body as his career progresses.
With all that being said, this offense is going anywhere without a healthy Newton under center. He looked like a shell of his former self down the stretch in 2018. If that version of Newton returns in 2019 the Panthers will be headed towards a high draft pick. Suffice it to say, Panthers officials are happy for Newton to try almost anything in his power to make sure his comeback’s a success.