Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said he is taking time away from the team and NFL in a 15-minute video blog he released Friday.
“I’ve decided I will take time away from the game,” Newton says while enjoying a cigar and a glass of wine. “This is me being the bigger person and being real with myself and saying, ‘Look, what’s the ultimate goal you’re trying to accomplish? Win the Super Bowl. OK, if you want to win the Super Bowl, this is the step you’ve got to take.’
“It could very well be a week. Or two weeks. It could be three weeks, it could be four weeks, it could be six weeks. But I have to understand and know if it takes that time I trust in this team that they will — we will — still be in a great situation by the time I get back.”
Newton does not want to play at any level other than the one he finds acceptable to himself.
It wouldn’t be the “Cam Newton everyone is accustomed to seeing” he said, referring to the injuries he has suffered, most recently a mild foot sprain, also known as a Lisfranc sprain.
“I refuse for that to happen. I’ve been doing that for two games. It’s hard for me to watch film, it’s hard for me to go about my everyday life knowing I’m being held back by an ailment knowing that all I have to do is be right by [it].
“It’s hard to come to grips with that decision or having those options, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to get right. I’ve got to get right.”
