The tall, veteran quarterback peered down at the reporters awaiting his thoughts on his team's recently drafted player at his position.
The politically correct move would be for him to take on a mentorship role with the just-drafted, young quarterback. So when asked about his role in developing the rookie, he responded candidly.
"I'm not worried about developing guys or any of that," Denver Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco said. "I don't look at that as my job. My job is to go win football games for this football team."
Like the Broncos with Flacco and second-round pick Drew Lock, the Carolina Panthers face similar questions about Cam Newton and third-round pick Will Grier.
Newton saw his team draft a quarterback for the first time since it took him first overall in 2011 and almost immediately speculation swirled whether he was interested in or even capable of mentoring Grier, who grew up in the Charlotte area.
So, what type of mentor is Newton to current backups Grier, Kyle Allen or Taylor Heinicke _ or any young quarterback the Panthers add?
"The truth of the matter is Cam's never really had to be in a mentor position until last year, anyway, so they really wouldn't know what he's capable of," Panthers coach Ron Rivera told the Observer. "For the most part, he's had (backup Derek Anderson) around, who's really helped him a lot."
Anderson's presence in the quarterback room during Newton's first seven seasons allowed him to lead more by example than anything else. During the 2018 season, his first without the now-retired Anderson, Newton took a more proactive role with Heinicke and Allen.
When Heinicke and Allen started their first games in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively, Newton became even more engaged in their developmental process.
"I think it doesn't just go into those last two weeks, I think it was throughout the whole season," Allen said. "He's not a selfish guy in that room, he's not just sitting there and worrying about himself and not worrying about everyone else on the team, or even in our room. The whole year, when I had questions, he was willing to answer them 100 percent.
"Those weeks when Taylor was starting and when I was starting, he was in there getting us ready, giving us looks ... It just shows his character, it shows what kind of guy he is."
