Cam Newton: 'I Don’t Have to Prove Nothing'
Cam Newton has an MVP award, countless records and an NFC Championship to his name, but he was left out to dry on the free agent market for nearly three months this spring.
In his first media appearance as a Patriot on Friday, however, he said he isn’t out to prove anything to anybody.
“I don’t have to prove nothing,” Newton said. “Now, I have to prove it to myself, that’s a daily challenge. And I don’t think nobody’s expectations will ever pass my expectations for myself.”
The stretch of free agency did take a toll on Newton in the moment, he said. The former Carolina Panther transferred that energy into additional training and workouts, which he regularly posted on Instagram throughout the offseason.
“Honestly, the wait was so long that I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that a lot of different potentials didn’t creep into my mind,” Newton said. “I used that as fuel, used that as something as a constant reminder that I just need to use these 24 hours to get better.”
That added fuel wasn’t anger, Newton said, instead claiming that he’s always angry and pushing himself for a multitude of other reasons outside of the game.
“I wake up mad,” Newton said. “The fact that I’m not able to see my kids on a regular basis, that’s what makes me mad. At the end of the day, for me, I’m not going to dwell on the past. I think I’m a person that’s a self-motivator.”
Newton’s anger has turned into excitement since he arrived in Foxboro, as he said he loved it in New England from the second he got there.
Surreal and crazy haven’t been the most common words used to describe Patriots under coach Bill Belichick, but Newton regularly leaned on them while gushing over the franchise and its reputation as a winner.
“For me man, I think this opportunity is something that I wake up every morning pinching myself each and every day and it’s so surreal,” Newton said. “I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m supposed to do while I’m a member of the Patriots so that sooner or later, it will click that this is the norm.”
From working with new teammates over the summer to adapting his retention methods to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ playbook, Newton has experienced his fair share of newness since joining the Patriots.
One thing that hasn’t changed, according to Newton, is having to stave off competitors for the starting quarterback job.
Newton said that going head-to-head-to-head with Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham is nothing new, since despite his big paychecks and high praise in the past, he has had to compete for a starting spot every year of his 10-year career.
“You compete every year,” Newton said. “Doesn’t matter how much a person’s paid, doesn’t matter how much a person’s experienced, doesn’t matter how much a person knows or doesn’t know. We all are competing each and every day.”
