Cam Newton Says He Couldn't Throw Farther Than 30 Yards with Shoulder Injury

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was unable to throw the ball beyond 30 yards after injuring his shoulder.

Newton shared a video Thursday in which he discussed his shoulder surgery last month and why he felt the need to have the procedure.

"I was trying to keep up as much as possible until the wheels fell off," he said (h/t Bill Voth of Black & Blue Review).

The Panthers shut Newton down for their last two games of the season. The three-time Pro Bowler was clearly struggling before that as a result of his injured shoulder. 

"First quarter, second quarter—as the game progressed, I started to feel fatigue in my shoulder," Newton said on 680 The Fan in Atlanta in January (via Max Henson of the Panthers' official site). "That's what was so frustrating. It didn't matter how much I would grind, how much I would muscle up and try to throw it—it wasn't going far. You're looking at your arm thinking, 'Geez, Louise, what is really the issue?'"

In what proved to be his final three appearances, he threw for 696 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 62.5 percent of his passes and owning a 63.7 quarterback rating.

In Carolina's 12-9 defeat to the New Orleans Saints in Week 15, Newton finished 16-of-29 for 131 yards and an interception. According to NFL.com's Next Gen Stats, he didn't attempt a throw of more than 17 yards and had four attempts beyond 10 yards.

The good news for the Panthers is that Newton should be back to his old self after the surgery.

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported the procedure was a "very clean process" and shouldn't put him at risk of missing any game time in 2019.