Cam Newton has heard enough about the hits to his head.
Asked by reporters today about the NFL’s investigation into whether he should have been pulled from the game after he was hit in the head multiple times by the Broncos, Newton repeatedly scoffed at the idea that he would be worried about anything other than this week’s game against the 49ers.
“Worry about what?” Newton said. “I worry about winning. That’s it. Winning. Winning football games. That’s why I’m here. I’m not here to worry about retirement plans. I’m not here to worry about pensions. I’m not here to worry about worker’s comp. I’m here to win football games, simple and plain. And this is a contact sport, this is a physical sport, and I play the games for the right reasons, for whatever coach asks me to do I’m going to do it. I’m here to win football games.”
Newton said he never felt any concussion symptoms despite taking several hard hits, including two that have resulted in Broncos players getting fined.
“I took a couple hits to the head but I don’t think I showed any signs of being concussed. There was no wooziness. I’ve seen hits in the past where guys stumbled, and I’ve seen hits where it affects their play afterward. . . . That comes with football, it being a contact sport,” Newton said.
As reporters continued pressing Newton about hits to the head, he tried to cut the discussion off.
“We’re dwelling on something that I don’t want to dwell on,” Newton said. “My focus is the San Francisco’ 49ers’ defense, the team that shut out the Los Angeles Rams. I gain nothing from talking about the past. The NFL is going to do their investigation and I know wholeheartedly that [the Panthers’ medical] staff did an exceptional job of protecting me, along with other players. My focus right now is trying to win football games.”
The NFL has vowed to investigate the medical treatment Newton got on Thursday, but as far as Newton is concerned, it’s time to move on.
