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Cam Newton received a pink note from the Panthers on March 24. He remained in the free agent market for three months before agreeing to the terms of a one-year contract with the Patriots.
The Patriots have a 6-8 record in their 14 games this season, and they have 12 running touchdowns and just five passing touchdowns. He will become the first starter since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to end a season with more quick touchdowns than passes.
But Newton learned something about himself in a difficult season, which included losing a game with COVID-19.
“I’m a mentally tough motherfucker, bruh,” said Newton on Thursday, via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable.
Newton, who will win just under $ 4 million this season, could start his last game for the Patriots on Sunday.
He is expected to become a free agent in March. It is not known if the Patriots want him back or if he wants to come back.
“The injuries, yes, were difficult to overcome. The last free agency, yes, that was difficult. COVID, you mentioned. And even success, those are all the ones you look back on and like, ‘Yes, it could have been better,’ ”said Newton. The only one for me are my children. Are my kids. It is like any parent, any mother who is on this call now to go without speaking to their children or their family. That was – that’s all, do you know what I’m saying? Because like, I’ll put it like this: And I’m being honest, right? I had two birthdays that I didn’t see. My son Chosen’s birthday was on Christmas Eve. I didn’t get to see it with him. My son Cashmere’s birthday was September 30, and I couldn’t see that either. Cashmere just turned 1, so that was a big deal for him. The chosen one just turned 5 years old. So – and even more or less, not seeing my children’s first steps.
“Like, all of those things. To be unemployed for 86 nights, yes, this is difficult. Having injuries, yes, is difficult. Going through this season, you can assume that giant media market is Boston or Foxboro, New England, whatever you want to call it. The slander that accompanies TB12’s expectations. Yes, this is all difficult. You hear. None of this comes close to not being able to see your children. Only that. You miss your children’s first steps. You are not there during Christmas. You are not there for birthdays.
“And besides, are you shit? Oh man. And coming from a person who is already emotional? And I don’t even want to talk to people on a normal day, let alone when everything is going well. But I learned that through all of this, you only have faith in God, faith in yourself. And that’s basically it. I really trusted the understanding of trying to find something to build. It didn’t matter if it was one, ‘Well, it was incomplete.’ And you can think of it as – I don’t care what you think – for me, I’m being optimistic about all of this, and I learned to be optimistic especially through these trials and tribulations, because sometimes during this year, it was like, ‘ God. What is it? What are you doing? What are you trying to tell me? Like, what am I not doing? ‘And yes, having to wake up at certain times and leave the premises at certain times and still not have the success you want, that teaches you resilience. This teaches patience. It teaches you to have faith and to understand that, listen, sooner or later, you will have a break. I’m not looking for alms.
“It’s more or less for me to just say, ‘Bruh, damn it. Finally.’ Right? And 2020, man, I’m about to sign, seal. I’m about to end this year, make a big knot of it. I can buy every lock and key and throw them all away. I don’t want to see any part of 2020, but it made me a better person. That, I believe. And that is something, being part of this franchise is something that you just don’t wash away the stench, that aura of being a Patriot. It is something that is in you. Being around, without a doubt, the greatest coach of all time and looking at him from afar, because I, obviously, my method of life may not be like his methods of life. He wears jeans and a bubble jacket or Patriots outfit every day. And while I have my Polo down, Moncler down, you know what I’m saying? Meshika hat, masks. This is just my steez. I’m like, cold, I was never able to wear that jacket. Bang. Wearing. It also teaches different methods of producing and producing in this alloy. And I will never forget that. “