Cam Newton Says 'This Is Not Just Another Year,' Took 2016 'Real Personal'

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is fired up for the 2017 season following the team's disappointing 6-10 record last year, he revealed on Thursday:

"For my career, I can't let [what happened last year] to happen again," he said, according to Max Henson of the Panthers' official website. "Ever."

Per Bryan Strickland of the Panthers website, "Newton also says he realizes that he 'needs to grow mentally' and feels like he's taken positive steps along those lines." 

Strickland added:

Despite having offseason shoulder surgery on a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and missing a game last year due to a concussion, Newton isn't about to change his aggressive running style.

"That's my edge," he said, per Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com. "You don't expect a lion not to roar?"

Head coach Ron Rivera, meanwhile, has been pleased with Newton's progress during training camp.

"I thought Cam looked very good," he said, per David Newton of ESPN.com. "He looked a little rusty early on. His timing was off a little bit. But as he practiced more, you could see he started to get comfortable back there. We do have him on a pitch count, obviously. He was a couple of throws under it, but he looked good."

"Anytime you miss time, you've got to get the cobwebs out, pick up the timing, seeing things and all that," offensive coordinator Mike Shula added. "But for the most part, for the first day, it was pretty good."

The Panthers will need Newton, 28, to return to the form that helped him win the NFL MVP award in the 2015 season and lead Carolina to the Super Bowl. He posted monster numbers that season, throwing for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for 636 yards and 10 scores.

He regressed last season, however, as he finished with 3,509 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 359 rushing yards and another five scores on the ground. While he was beat up throughout the year and the team around him struggled, it was clearly a down year for Newton.

The Panthers added help for Newton this offseason, drafting playmakers in Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel to pair with Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart. It's as talented a group of skill-position players as Newton has ever been surrounded with.

Given his comments Thursday, Newton is ready to utilize them en route to a playoff run.