Former Carolina Panther signal caller Cam Newton made it abundantly clear that he has no plans to retire.
The New England Patriots released Newton on August 31 during the 53-man roster cut down. He later came out with his own ‘release’, a 44-minute video of what he is thinking and feeling at the present time. The 32-year-old free agent quarterback expresses how he feels about his situation. He also explains about his departure from the Patriots, why it happened and what he expects for his future.
According to Newton, what is not going down is his professional football mortality.
“This is giving me retirement vibes,” Newton said in jest at the start of his sit-down dialogue with his father, Cecil Newton. “This ain’t that!”
Cecil then had Cam cut to the chase later in the video, asking him “So this is not your retirement party?”
“Hell no,” he responded. “Listen, I’ma remove all doubt. I said it once and I’ll say it again. It’s not 32 guys out there that’s better than me, bruh. And let’s be honest. And out of those 32, if given the opportunity that I can show what I can do, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be.”
Despite words of encouragement throughout the summer and training camp from the Patriots, head coach Bill Belichick decided to hand the keys to the franchise to first year quarterback Mac Jones earlier than expected. For that to happen smoothly, Newton needed to be out of the fold.
That was a decision that Newton comprehended and one that he will come back stronger than ever from. Perhaps he will need something out of the ordinary to occur, like an injury or poor quarterback play, in order to make his return to a NFL team.
To the chagrin of Newton fans, the opportunity most likely will not come from the Panthers organization. Even though Cam and his dad mentioned team owner David Tepper in the video, a return to Carolina for Newton would not be the best situation for many of the same reasons he was shown the door by the Patriots.
With the acquisition of quarterback Sam Darnold in April, the Panthers would not want him looking over his shoulder at an established MVP such as Newton.
