Cam Newton Of The Carolina Panthers Is ‘Moving Forward’ With A ‘One-Week Mentality,’ One Game At A Time

Cam Newton, the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, is struggling with his emotions as he considers the loss of his teammate, best friend, and best target for his passes. When Cam found out that Kelvin Benjamin had been traded to the Bills, it made a powerful impact.

Newton responded with comments on the Carolina Panthers website on November 1, the day after it was announced that Kelvin Benjamin would be going to the Bills.

“Obviously it’s emotional in nature, but that can’t be a distraction for our preparation this week.”

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin joined the team in 2014. Benjamin and Newton quickly became close. The two always worked well together, especially on those long range passes.

Still, Cam Newton acknowledges that he and the rest of the Carolina Panthers must continue on, without Kelvin Benjamin.

“We’ve got one job to do, and that’s winning football games. I’m up to that task. It’s hard when you have emotional attachments. That happened with Benji, happened with Joe (Webb), happened with a couple of guys. I took it hard, but at the end of the day, life goes on.”

Kelvin Benjamin’s departure from the Carolina Panthers is still very fresh on Cam Newton’s mind as he goes into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta is Cam Newton’s hometown, so he is feeling the pressure far more than usual.

Cam Newton explains in the video below how he and the Carolina Panthers must continue on, preparing to go against the Falcons on Sunday. The legendary quarterback’s sadness about Kelvin Benjamin’s absence is clear.

Cam Newton has more than Kelvin on his mind, as he concentrates on winning football games. The Carolina Panthers are looking a bit more average than Newton would like. Being 5-3 is similar to the old glass half-full metaphor. It’s not a bad place to be, but it isn’t great either.

“A lot of teams … wish they were 5-3. I said this before, the optimism of it is we are 5-3. The negative of it is that we are 5-3.”

The Carolina Panthers can’t get back those games they have already lost, but Cam Newton expressed a strong feeling of regret. Cam frankly acknowledged the Panthers could have played better, and could have “changed the outcome.” Cam Newton told the Washington Post that he would be taking his job one week at a time.

“Just a one-week mentality. With that mentality, that got us a win [against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.] A lot of people may say it wasn’t how they wanted it to turn out, but it was how we wanted it to turn out. We got the win, and we’re expecting bigger things moving forward.”

Cam Newton is making every effort to focus on the Falcons game on Sunday. It’s tough, and he admits he cannot focus if he thinks of the whole season. For now, this is just about winning the game against the Falcons.

Though Cam Newton’s share of the responsibility to deliver a victory is weighing heavily, he knows that there are a lot of smaller people than him, dealing with much bigger problems.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has established a charitable foundation to help Children reach their potential, despite whatever hardships they are facing. The Cam Newton Foundation aids thousands of children each year, including work with Make-A-Wish.

Cam Newton is missing Kelvin Benjamin and feeling the pressure to get a win for the Carolina Panthers against the Falcons, but other situations are also weighing on him.

[Featured Image by Leon Halip/Getty Images]