Cam Newton: 'Cam Newton Put Himself in a F*cked Up Situation'

Ah yes, the old "speak in the third person" trick. It often goes a long way in convincing people that you've learned a much-needed lesson in humility.

Why does free agent QB Cam Newton, a former NFL MVP, need a few slices of humble pie? Well, ever since his appearance in Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos, a game he had in the bag until he didn't, Newton hasn't been able to get his career back on track.

Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton reaches for a loose ball during Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 7, 2016. Photo via Getty.

Newton recognizes that things haven't worked out for him lately, and in his own words, "Cam is taking full responsibility in saying that Cam put himself in a f—ed up situation."

What kind of effed-up situation? There are two, actually: New England and Carolina, the redux.

Newton discussed his stints with both teams recently with The Pivot Podcast.

"The New England experience was a f—ed up situation. I was still learning the offense seven to eight weeks into the season. … There was countless hours with Jedd Fisch, there was countless hours with Josh McDaniels, there was countless hours with so many different people trying to teach me certain things, and it was just brain overload. There was times I’m going to the line and I’m still thinking. Did I know it? Yes. To the degree that I needed to know it in order to show the world that I’m still Cam Newton? No. But I put myself in that situation."

OK, sounds reasonable to an extent. However, Newton conveniently forgets here that he signed with the Patriots in July of 2020.

So why was he still learning the playbook "seven to eight weeks into the season"? He was also released in August 2021 in favor of rookie Mac Jones, who evidently already learned the offense and put it into motion better than Newton did after a year with the team. So, the "brain overload" may not have been the only problem.

But hey, live and learn, right? Errr...not really. Newton then once again dove head first into another "f—ed up situation" when he signed a one-year deal with Carolina — his old stomping grounds — in November 2021. That pairing didn't go well either.

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"Carolina, I put myself in another f—ed up situation,” Newton said. “I was signed on Thursday. I played on Sunday. At what point did you think you were going to be successful? That next week, I started. That’s still under ten days of me being on the team, and you’re still trying to learn an offense."

True, but he didn't get a firm grasp on the offense after eight games and five starts either, and the Panthers seem to have moved on from Newton for good.

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Sam Darnold returns from injury, and newly-drafted former Ole Miss QB Matt Corral is already competing with Darnold for the starting gig. And we all know three's a crowd, especially in a QB room.

So hopefully after failed attempts with two different teams, Narcissus Newton, 33, will stop looking in the mirror to admire his reflection and start looking in it to assess what he could do differently. His cocky attitude once brought him to the Super Bowl mountain top, but it isn't working anymore. Time to take a new approach.

He's still relatively young and has raw talent and charisma, but he may need to suck it up, put away the Super Man fantasy, and accept a backup role for now if he wants to keep playing.

We'll see whether he truly has learned his lesson from all these "f—ed up situations."