Cam Newton is one of the most open and honest players to ever touch an NFL field.

Whether the situation is positive or negative, he’s going to express himself. The 32-year-old made sure to vent following his release from the New England Patriots last week. Newton dropped a 43-minute video on Friday morning to discuss the past couple months with the Patriots, while being interviewed by his father, Cecil.

Newton touched on topics ranging from his relationship with Mac Jones, the COVID situation that sidelined him for five days and his future in the NFL.

Here’s some of the major takeaways from Newton’s tell-all video.

Cam Newton was surprised by being released

Similar to everyone, Newton was surprised by the release.

“Did it catch me by surprise, being released? Absolutely,” Newton said after being asked the question by his father.

“I’ve been playing long enough to have got it remotely two years ago with the Panthers, but I never really got that call where, ‘Hey, come to the office,’ ” Newton said. “It was funny, as a matter of fact, to me. I’m laughing at it now. I walked in, and they were like, ‘Oh, hold up, Cam, Cam, Cam. Bill wants to meet with you.’ I’m like, ‘OK, cool.’ But Bill’s office is down here, and they were like, ‘No, he’s in here.’ And that’s when I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, I see what’s going on.’

“When it happened, we went through the meeting, Matt Patricia was there, Bill was there. We greeted each other, and we just started talking. At that time, they told me that they were going to give the reins to Mac, and I was like, ‘OK, cool.’ And it didn’t dawn on me. I was like, ‘Y’all releasing me?’ I was confused, because Bill was — we all were shocked. It was uncomfortable for everybody.”

He felt 'bamboozled' by the COVID situation

The COVID situation that sidelined Newton for five days appeared to come out of nowhere. It also appeared to be framed as if it were Newton’s fault for being irresponsible ahead of the Patriots’ third preseason game.

Here’s the Patriots’ statement on it.

“On Saturday, Cam Newton traveled to a club-approved medical appointment that required him to leave the New England area,” the statement read. “He received daily COVID tests, which were all negative. Due to a misunderstanding about tests conducted away from NFL facilities, and as required by the NFL-NFLPA protocols, Cam will be subject to the five-day entry cadence process before returning to the facility. Cam will continue participating virtually in team activities and return to the club facility on Thursday, August 26.”

Newton followed up with his side of the story.

“Let’s go backwards to being away from the team for those five days: They gave me clearance to go,” Newton said, transcribed by WEEI. “So, I don’t want nobody to think they I just went. I’m owed a second opinion. That’s just a fact. The trip was necessary because this was the last time I felt that I was going to have an opportunity to get a second opinion.

Not to say the personnel with the Patriots wasn’t coherent to telling me everything I needed to know, but having four eyes on it is better than having two eyes on it — in my opinion. It wasn’t that I was having any issues or pain, I just wanted to do a check-up with in essence the person who diagnosed me with the Lisfranc. I felt obligated to check back in with like a six-month review, or …

“I crossed all the lines. I checked all the boxes. I dotted all my I’s and then to find out that I had to sit out, that’s when I kind of felt bamboozled because I’m like, ‘Y’all told me to go.’ It wasn’t like, ‘Cam, you know if you go you’re taking your own risk now.’ It was not that.”

He does believe in Mac Jones

Despite what could be perceived to be bad blood between Newton and the Patriots, he still believes Jones will lead the team to wins. Newton didn’t seem to carry any resentment throughout the entire interview with his father.

“They’re going to win football games with Mac Jones,” Newton said.

His dad asked if the Patriots would win with Newton at the helm and he confidently responded.

“That’s a fact, too,” he said. “But, I don’t want the audience to think he’s only saying that just because he’s not there no more. No, like Mac is good enough. I think when they selected him the selection that they picked him, they wanted to find out a couple of things. One of those things they wanted to find out was is he capable of leading this offense to be productive?”

He reveals the real reason for being cut by the team

There was speculation stirring about his release saying a myriad of different scenarios caused it. Newton clearly believes that it was due to the fact that he’d be a distraction as Jones’ backup.

“The reason that they released me was because indirectly, I was going to be a distraction without being the starter. … Just my aura. That’s my gift and my curse,” Newton said. “When you bring a Cam Newton into your facility, when you bring a Cam Newton to your franchise, people are interested by mere factor of who is he. Why does he wear his hair, why does he talk, why does he act, why does he perform? All these questions. …

“So let me be honest with you. If they asked me, would I play behind — they say, ‘Cam, we’re going to give the team to Mac. You’re going to be the second string, and we expect you to be everything and some to guide him throughout this tenure.’ I would have said, ‘Absolutely.’ But listen, the truth of the matter is this: He would have been uncomfortable.”

Rob Ninkovich's 'playbook' report was far from true

Rob Ninkovich went on a limb by reporting that Jones was teaching Newton the Patriots’ playbook. Newton had the entire 2020 season to learn it and Jones had his own growth to work through in five months since he was drafted.

While being asked about it by his father, Newton replied with grace.

“No,” Newton said. “How can he teach me?”

He did admit the playbook was slightly different than anything he’s been used to, but that didn’t mean Jones was teaching him it.

“Nah. If anything, I was — I was like, ‘Josh, it’s so new to me.’ I’ve never been in a system that required me to know where the Mike (linebacker) is, to know the front, to identify certain fronts and XYZ,” Newton said. “You can’t say that that’s stupid or ‘Why wouldn’t you know that?’ because half of the NFL — I would say 30 teams out of 32 teams don’t run this philosophy. It’s in the center’s call, because they control the protection, and if you have any type of red flag or an alert, then that’s when you kind of (say), ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, Lucy this. Ricky to 50.’ You know what I’m saying? Something like that.

“But as far as that? No. Mac was cool, man. He was a person who was young. He was still trying to find his way. And that’s why I would just say what can he teach me when it’s coming at him faster than it was coming at me? I would always ask Mac, and we were helping each other. It’s like, ‘You straight, bro?’ And I would go to (Brian Hoyer) and be like, ‘Bro, you seeing something that I didn’t see?’ or ‘What was the Mike?’ or XYZ. And then me and Josh had a great dialogue after practice or during practice where he would tell me. But I felt heads and toes above where I was understanding (the offense) 12 months ago. Without a doubt.”

His future in the NFL is not over

All this led to the question — is Newton going to retire at the age of 32?

He prefaced the interview by saying it wasn’t a retirement speech and he backed that sentiment up at the end. Newton still believes there aren’t 32 quarterbacks better than him in the NFL.

He is waiting for the right moment and won’t push the envelope, but there is still football in Newton’s future.

“Do I have a lot of football left in me yet? Absolutely,” Newton finished the interview with.