As Panthers lose again, Cam Newton announces he wants to return to football

Can Newton is vaccinated, working out and wants to play football, but the situation “has to be right.”

On Sunday, during a full slate of NFL games on TV, the former Panthers and Patriots quarterback dropped a YouTube video proclaiming his vaccination status, reaffirming his belief that getting vaccinated is a personal decision, and emphatically announcing his desire to play football.

“Hell yeah I still want to play football,” Newton said. “I still get that urge to go out and perform and do something that I’ve been doing since I was 7 years old. But also, it’s like, man I’m so much more than just a football player, respect me as such.”

Newton was cut by the New England Patriots after the preseason and is still a free agent. His former teams — New England and Carolina — have struggled this season. The Panthers lost 34-28 to Minnesota on Sunday, their third consecutive defeat.

“Long story short, I’m just waiting for the right opportunity,” Newton said. “You’re probably asking yourself, ‘Don’t nobody want Cam?’ That’s a lie, I’ve been getting offers, but the realization of it is, it has to be right.”

“Right for you” was a theme in Newton’s video, as the former NFL MVP and Panthers star discussed his philosophy on the COVID vaccine, and why he didn’t get vaccinated while he was active with the Patriots.

“The time I was on the team, the side effects really weren’t beneficial to me,” Newton said. “You know, you hear the side effects of achiness, pain, body aches, being nauseous, or whatever.”

Since then, Newton said, he’s been traveling, working out, and waiting for what he called the “right opportunity.”

Now, he said, he wants to play. And he wants to stop discussing vaccinations.

“I got my vaccination card, I want to play football, and stop damn judging people if they do or if they don’t have the vaccination,” he said.

“You have to do what’s right for you,” Newton continued. “Whether a person gets vaccinated or not, that’s a personal decision, and I think it should be respected as such.”

Newton said people have asked him if he still wants to play football. To them, he is quite blunt.

“I’ve sacrificed enough to be in a comfortable position to take care of my family,” Newton said. “It almost makes me feel bad for the guys who don’t do good with their money, but that’s a whole different story.”