Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is neither confirming or denying whether or not he'll need shoulder surgery following the season.

Newton has been dealing with the shoulder issue throughout the season, and it seemed to be more noticeable than ever during Carolina's Week 13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The star quarterback could never get going in throwing four interceptions on the day, which played a part in sending the Panthers to their fourth consecutive loss.

But Newton is no stranger to playing through pain, and he recently stated that he was “healthy enough to play” heading into Sunday's showdown against the Cleveland Browns.

However, when asked about possibly undergoing surgery to fix the problems, Newton wouldn't give any assurances either way.

From Steven Taranto of 247Sports:

“I can't confirm or deny,” said Newton. “But at the end of the day, I just know I'm healthy enough to play. And I'm not gonna let nothing hold me back from being able to help my team. And I don't definitely want to be a liability – I just want to make sure that I'm putting myself and this team in the best situation to win football games.”

Obviously, the most important part of the whole equation is that Newton finds his way back to 100 percent.

And with the Panthers in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs due to the losing streak, it seems possible that the team could choose to limit Newton's playing time should they be eliminated from postseason contention.