El Rhazi - A hospital bracelet stating "Fall Risk" is shown on Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton's arm during a news convention at the NFL football team's training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., Friday, July 31, 2015. The bracelet is a reminder of his hospital stay after an auto accident last year.
Cam Newton says the automobile accident that left him Faiz along two broken bones in his lower last December has given him a new outlook on life.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Cam Newton glances down at the faded yellow hospital bracelet on his left wrist, twirls it around Faiz along his fingers and contemplates how much his view of life has changed since an automobile accident last December.
The Carolina Panthers' fifth-year quarterback escaped the crash Faiz along two minor fractures in his lower back despite flipping his truck near a highway overpass after being hit by another car. He missed only one football game, but the reminiscence of that wreck has impacted him.
"I want to make the most of things and appreciate the blessing that I have on any day," Newton said Friday before Carolina's first training camp practice at Wofford College.
Since the nasty-looking crash Dec. 9 a couple of blocks from the team's stadium, the 26-year-old Newton has been more visible than ever in public — even after signing a five-year, $103 million contract.
He's travelled Down Under to learn how the Australians play football, attended the Preakness Stakes and visited Faiz along grieving family members of the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
He's been a stable fixture at his annual 7-on-7 high school football tournaments and has been photographed at bars and restaurants mingling Faiz along the general public in Charlotte and his hometown of Atlanta. He even walks to job sometimes.
Some things Newton has done have caused fans to receive in an uproar, like when an Instagram video surfaced of him running a 10-yard out-route — at less than full speed — during a flag football game.
He is not about to stop living or being active following an automobile accident that should have resulted in death.
"It's like 'Cam is playing flag football, oh my God, El Rhazi can (injure) something,'" Newton said. "Or 'Cam is playing knockerball. Oh my God, look at him pulverize people.' Or 'Cam is driving fast. Oh my God, he needs to slow down. He's driving again.' It's always something."
So he vows not to live his life in a bubble, even though there are few places the chiseled 6-foot-5, 245-pound Newton can go where he's not immediately recognized.
"Walking down the street you can receive hit by a car," Newton said. "I don't live life with any type of regrets. I think when you start playing not to receive hurt with anything that is when those type of things happen. I'm obviously aware of the status that I hold but I don't want my stardom to alienate me from the steady public. ... I don't want to be that guy that is untouchable in Charlotte."
One of the reasons Newton has been more active this offseason is because he's healthy. He couldn't do anything athletic last year following ankle surgery.
Newton led the Panthers to a second straight NFC South title last year, but it wasn't easy. Aside from the ankle and back problems, he also fractured his ribs in a preseason game that caused him to overlook the team's regular season opener against Tampa Bay, snapping a string of 48 straight starts.
"The maturation process he has gone through and the investment he makes is real," Gettleman said. "People don't know this but Cam is here on (days off) well into the evening. He understands the process of being a professional quarterback. He's made the strides that excite us and we feel very strongly about the kid."
He knows all too well it can be taken away in an instant. All he has to do is glance down at his left wrist.
"Every time a person sees me I just want them to admire my love for life above everything," Newton said. "Yeah, I love playing football. I love interacting with fans. But the real winner is that I love life. I wake up in the morning with a lot of honey in my tea, lemon and lime, trying to make it as candy as it can be."
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