FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton reflected on his challenging 2020 season in a lengthy, passionate video conference Thursday that felt like an exit interview saying goodbye.
“My only regret was that I wish I had more time to dissect what I was actually getting into,” Newton said when asked if he could have done anything else to contribute to more personal success.
“I’ve been in this league long enough to always more or less downplay, like,“ Man, we don’t need a pre-season. We don’t need OTAs. We are ready to go. “Yes, maybe if I was still in the system I came from. But when you learn this system, you just need more time, you need more real iterations to go through it, because there is only so much that you can come up with.
You could put on the lashes. You could put on your eyebrows. You could put on your lipstick. The mascara and the lip liner. But sooner or later it’s going to rain and the real thing will show you. And unfortunately it turned out – – not necessarily in a way that I wanted. “
Newton, who spent most of the off-season as a free agent before signing a modest one-year contract with the Patriots on July 8, leads New England to his season finale against the visiting New York Jets on Sunday (CBS, 1:00 PM ET) . Despite saying he doesn’t know what the future holds, he hinted that this will be his last game for the Patriots (6-9), noting that there are teammates with whom he still plans to play in the future to have a connection.
In 14 games as a replacement for Tom Brady this season, Newton is 221 of 338 for 2,415 yards passing, with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 513 rush yards in 126 carriers, with 12 touchdowns. Newton tested positive for the corona virus in early October, missed one game and played through an abdominal injury in early December.
But Newton said the hardest part of 2020 was getting away from his kids, which included missing two birthday parties, Christmas, and milestone moments like his son’s first steps.
“All those things, being out of work for 86 nights, yes, that’s tough. Having injuries, yes, that’s tough. Going through this season, you can kind of assume what a juggernaut media market that Boston is …” The slander that is comes with living up to the TB12 expectations, yeah that’s all tough, you hear it. [But] it’s not even a close second that you can’t see your kids. And on top of that, are you sucking? Ah, man.
“For me I can still be better. I can still be more consistent. Some of the throws I’ve had I wish I would have had them back. But still nobody cares about the circumstances, nobody cares about the waves or the waves.” “The tide that’s in the water. They just care about you just bringing that ship in, and I haven’t done that consistently enough.”
Newton, 31, called himself a “mentally tough SOB” when asked what he had learned about himself, saying his focus on optimism helped.
“It was almost like going under the hood – dealing with my attitude, patience, faith, the resilient side of you. What are you going to do if things don’t go so well?” he said.
Because sometimes during this year it was like, ‘God, what are you doing? What are you trying to tell me?’ It teaches you 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 no handouts. And 2020, I’m about to sign, seal [and] tie up this year, tie a big knot on it. I can buy any lock and key and throw them all away. I don’t want to see part of 2020. But it has made me a better person. I believe that. “