In a video released on his YouTube channel Friday, Cam Newton spoke about why he currently isn’t suiting up for the Carolina Panthers.

After getting off to a slow start in the opening two weeks of the season, Newton came out of the Panthers’ active lineup, allowing backup Kyle Allen to take over as he led Carolina to their first win of the season Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

In the video, Newton confirms that he dealt with a shoulder injury that ailed him “for a long time.” Newton explains that his off-season consisted of two shoulder surgeries, with the second being the supposed permanent fix.

With the shoulder issue behind him, the 30-year-old took the field in Week 3 of the preseason and hurt his foot on a scramble play.

Knowing he wasn’t going to play in Week 4, Newton spent the entire week rehabbing in preparation for the opening week of the NFL regular season.

“And this is where I got in my own way.” Newton says, “Automatically I thought, ‘I have to play Week 1, I can’t let my fans down, I want to be there for my team.’ ”

During the pre-game warmup of Carolina’s Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 8, Newton realized that he couldn’t run when he struggled through his pre-game routine.

The three-time Pro Bowler likes to run around the outline of the field during the warmup as a way to “mark my territory” but this time, running was an issue.

“Fast-forward, through the game, and I feel like I’m in the game, but something is missing.” Newton said, “it’s one thing to have the ability to run and not, rather than having opportunities to run and you can’t.”

The 2015 AP Offensive Player of the Year explains that it became hard for him to push, plant and for him to “have that firm foundation as a thrower,” and that he was consistently guarding his foot.

That inability to push and plant reared its ugly head in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when the Panthers gave a direct snap to running back Christian McCaffrey with the game on the line on a fourth and goal call from the two–yard line. 

“For so long I’ve prided myself on being able to get one yard, either I’m going to jump over you, run through you, or around you.” But, the foot issue prevented him being able to do that.

Newton says that he never felt pressure to push through the injury after speaking with the team’s head trainer, head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney.

“I was my own worst enemy – there’s no way I should’ve put myself in that positon.” 

Newton points out that if he is able to heal and get back to 100 per cent, there is no doubt in his mind that Carolina can accomplish everything they set out to do.

In the 15-minute video, Newton doesn’t put an exact timeline on his return saying he could be out for one week, or he could be out for six weeks. 

“Yes, I can play right now, but if I were to go out there and play four quarters of football, with my foot… it’ll be a number 1 out their but it wouldn’t be the Cam Newton everyone is accustomed to seeing.”

With everything going on, the star QB let it be known how frustrating it is to rehab a shoulder injury all off-season and then get sidelined due to something else so early in the year.

“At the end of the day, I just have to get right.” Newton said, “Just trust and believe that I’m doing any and everything that can speed up this healing process.”

Carolina will be back in action Sunday when they take on the Houston Texans.