You had a busy offseason, right?
“All of it was rather adventurous the last couple weeks. Everything was done from a good place, I felt like. I even got the opportunity to play flag football. Things that never hindered me, well I was hindered in the past, but now that I had the ability to do it, I wanted to do it. Most of those things were good cardio for me. It was rather fun.”
Is there a danger in being so active in the offseason?
“Walking down the street you could get hit by a car, you know what I’m saying? I don’t live life with any type of regrets. When you starting playing not to get hurt with anything, that’s when those type of things happen. I’m obviously aware of the status I hold, yet, I don’t want my stardom to alienate me from the regular public. The thing that I really enjoy is going to places that people would never expect that I’m at. As surprised as they are that I’m there, I’m just as surprised that we’re there and having fun. That’s what I pride myself on being, I don’t want to be that guy that’s untouchable in Charlotte. I enjoy walking to work and talking to people along the way. I enjoy sneaking around at the Live After 5. I enjoy going to Food Fruck Friday’s, and the unbelievable restaurants around Charlotte and just talking.”
So what activity wouldn’t you do?
“I think the future holds that, but I’m all football right now, so I’m just trying to find each and every way to make it to the last rectangle on the field from here on out.”
Is it annoying always having that spotlight on you?
“I think you guys read too much into it. It’s kind of boring not having football for a lot of times. Now we get to get the stories that everybody’s hearing. ‘Cam playing flag football, Oh my God, he can do something! Oh my, look at him pulverize people! Cam’s driving fast! Slow down! He’s driving again!’ You know it’s always something, but that’s just the life we live. I’m not ever thinking twice about things I do. I think before I do it, but having that mentality that someone is going to bring the negative in it, I look at the optimism of each and every scenario.”
Car accident changed life?
“I had a whole bunch of life changes last year, for obvious reasons, health-wise. You know, having the health to do those things was the good thing about [this offseason].”
Still wear hospital bracelet?
“Yeah, along with other things. Yep, the hospital bracelet. I tried to get it somewhat, the same to keep alive. It started out all yellow, but now it’s like a yellowish-white. The paint is running off of there. It says ‘fall risk’. It’s for highly sedated patients. When they give you the medicine that makes you dizzy, it reminds the nurse when she comes in and you want to use the restroom or do those kind of things, fall risk tells them, for obvious reasons. I don’t wear it for a fashion sense. I wear it as a reminder that so many people worry about the things we just talked about, the negatives of ‘He’s gonna do this. Oh man, it’s too hot outside. Oh God, I’m gonna get sunburn,’ and not just appreciating that the sun is out. If it was raining, then people would have that talk. But I’m the type of person, especially with the things I went through the past few years, that I make the most and appreciate the many blessings that I have on any day. Because like my father always told me, ‘One day you can be on top of the world, and the next, the world can be on top of you. Appreciate the people that are in it, and strive for greatness in everything you do.'”
With your new contract, how important was it for you to visit families of the Charleston shooting victims?
“You didn’t have to put in the contract thing, but, that’s me. It’s something I wanted to do, and being that it could have happened anywhere, but being that it was in the Carolinas, that’s a place I have the most impact on. Whether it’s in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, I can really speak on it. I try to do as much as I can in Alabama. Those are places that I’m at. Why not be a polarizing figure in something good. They see what you make, they see what you do on the field, but at the end of the day. We started this whole meeting, and I’m a real person. I have passion and I have feelings. I always want to do the right things and shine light on the positive things. I didn’t necessarily want that to be something that the media knew. There’s a lot of things that I do, and I don’t want people to say ‘Make sure you hashtag that I’m here now.’ I don’t think that’s the realism, or that people get the passion from that. With me visiting the families, it made me appreciate it that much more. That I’m actually there, and I’m looking and talking to the people. The thing that stuck out was how great these people are. Tragedy doesn’t have a destination or preference. It could happen to anybody, on anytime in any moment. I just wanted to reach out and show my respect and make the situation better. Also, I didn’t want to take any time, or take any acknowledgment, undue to the cause of me being there. I didn’t want them to say ‘Cam’s only here because.’ I wanted them actually talk and have somebody to talk to and soften the blow.”
When’s the last time your ankle felt this good?
“A long time, but for me to run and plant off of it fully without thinking twice about it, it makes me feel good. I had a person ask me if this was the best shape I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t want to say that, but this is probably the best I’ve felt in a long time. That’s saying a lot. Waking up and being able to run and not limp, and an obvious limp, too. This time last year, I was all about faith and with me being there that sooner or later it was going to help. As the season progressed, I began to feel better, but when you feel better on Monday but feel terrible on Sunday. It’s only a matter of time before you have to have an accelerated treatment to get you right for the next couple of days.”
How was your time with the receivers earlier this month in Baltimore?
“Unbelievable. It was great team kinship with guys seeing the realness in each other, not just around here. Yeah, we play cards and we talk and do this and that, but by the time we get here, truthfully, everybody is so tired after practicing and meetings that you can’t really talk about real situations. When you get in that situation when you’re by yourself, you cherish that. You want to talk to your family and talk to your friends and want to catch up on things that you probably miss while you’re on the practice field. So you kind of cheat yourself of actually getting to know your teammates in camp. We spent a long period of time, more than usual. Usually, we have four or five days right before camp, but this time we set aside two weeks. This was mainly because guys who have families and already had prior engagements to attend, that they just come down whether it’s just two days, three days, four days, a week, or even the whole two weeks. For everybody to live under the same roof, eat the same, go out and talk and chill, and appreciate each other’s company, just made the whole vibe great.”
Thoughts on Russell Wilson’s contract extension?
“I’m pretty sure he deserved it. He plays for a complete team in a different state, and I’m always appreciative of guys that work hard. I’m a firm believer that hard work pays off, and it’s great to see that a guy of his stature, and so much that he’s accomplished, is being compensated.”
What the most important thing you’d want someone who didn’t know you to know?
“Hopefully they see that I’m pretty (laughs). I’m just teasing. I don’t know, man. I talk to kids across America and try to get through to them to just love what you do. Every time a person may see me, I want them to admire my love for life above everything. Yeah, I love playing football, I love interacting with fans and you guys, but the real winner is that I love life. I wake up in the morning with a lot of honey in my tea, and lemon and lime, trying to make it as sweet as could be so I can feel the energy. When I get out there on the field, it’s all smiles. It’s a professionalism about it, but yet, it’s still things I appreciate. There are guys doing so much behind the scenes to make this thing go, so if they’re stressing and doing their job, then I have to do my job, too. I don’t want to do it with a frown on my face.”
What are your expectations for Auburn this season?
“Ring, ring, ring, no matter what. It’s simple, self-explanatory.”
And your expectations for the Panthers?
“Well, to keep the pressure off a lot of people, I know the one thing that you’re going to get. I can set a lot of expectations for so many people because it’s kind of softhearted. For us, it’s a lot of guys that we know. The vibe in the locker room is changing, and in a good way. I’m not taking shots at nobody, but we’re taking shots for us. We have guys who are playing for each other. We have guys who know our role, and they’re trying to perfect their role. For me, it’s all for one. Being that person that people look to for comfort and knowing, ‘As long as Cam is on our team, we’re good.’ Not only saying that, in that same breath, but for Greg [Olsen] to think that, he has to think the same way. For Benji, the Funchess, the Luke’s, Thomas Davis and Charles Johnson. Everybody has to have that same mentality, that as long as I’m on this team, I’m going to make the difference and put my signature on each and every play. We have guys who have that year of experience, and I think it went a long way. Hopefully throughout these next coming practices, and throughout this whole training camp, we need guys to be focused to make a big splash.”
So what was the vibe in the locker room like before this?
“This is going into my fifth year. Oh my God, (shakes head). I’m that vet now. You see it all in my facial hair. Going into my fifth year, you see the locker room change, not necessarily change, but the majority of guys understand. We have core Panthers’ guys. These guys have invested. There’s no guys coming on our team that we’re expecting to make a big impact that doesn’t necessarily know everybody, and that’s something good that we pride ourselves on. We have guys like Charles [Johnson], Thomas Davis, Star [Lotulelei], Kawann [Short], Ryan Kalil, myself, Benji, Stewart, Tolbert, those guys. We’ve been together for so long now, and the only guys that probably sticks out right now is probably, Big Mike [Oher], but you know, he’s getting along with everybody. He’s like the missing puzzle that we needed and a hardworking guy that brings so much to us. We’re not taking anything for granted, but we’re also not expecting anything for that. We’re 0-0 right now, undefeated. However you wanna look at it, we’re going to do the little things to make the big difference.”
How much is that you growing and learning?
“It comes with it. Time cures a lot of things. For me to be here for so long, I’d be a fool if I haven’t grown. If I didn’t show any similarities of Coach Rivera, of Coach Shula and Ken Dorsey out there. I’m supposed to be that guy, and that’s by default. When people think about quarterback, that’s the only position in all of sports that has that default ‘You’re a leader’. Whether you want it or not. I’m feeling comfortable more and more that I pride myself and my leadership that I’m naturally in. I’m not doing things where I’m flipping a switch on and doing things where I say ‘I gotta go into leader Cam, or playful Cam.’ Those are things that I want to do. I’m always reminding guys, and guys are always reminding me about things that I stand for, and what they’re standing for and what to expect from them. The easy part is that I don’t have to do it alone. I really respect and have admiration for a lot of guys on the team that makes my job easy and makes their job easy. The guy that doesn’t necessarily get a lot of praise, but they do their job in a way that makes a big difference on each and every practice, and that will pay dividends on Sundays.”
What are the necessities you bring to camp?
“Music is a big thing. I need Beats. A lot of junk food. That was a hot commodity yesterday, when shopping. [I] stood in the candy aisle, the Little Debbie aisle, the cereal aisle, for more than I knew I was supposed to be, but it’s going for a good cause. It’s going to keep me up in meetings. Good protein as well, for energy. I need my snacks, need my music. I need my gadgets, like my iMac, iPad. Movies, something that’s going to eventually watch me during the night, you know as I try to watch it. That’s it.”
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