Cam Newton - Pro Football Rumors

Panthers To Start Kyle Allen In Week 8

October 21st, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Marc Delucchi

Kyle Allen will make his fifth consecutive start for the Panthers next week. The second-year UDFA will get the call again when the Panthers face the 49ers in San Francisco, Ron Rivera said Monday, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (on Twitter).

It was believed unlikely that Cam Newton would return from his foot injury this week, but Rivera’s announcement ends any speculation. The ninth-year starter will, however, work out on a side field. The Panthers have not reached the quarterback-controversy stage of this process, with Newton not yet ready to return. But that day could be coming, and this week’s game will be telling for Allen’s progress (and the Panthers’ status as an NFC contender).

Facing the undefeated 49ers will be Allen’s greatest challenge since taking over under center. When Allen took over, the Panthers were 0-2 and looked likely to fall out of the playoff race. Instead, they have won four straight and are in prime position to fight for an NFC playoff spot.

In his four appearances this season, Allen has completed 65.6% of his passes for just over 225 yards a game. He has a 7-to-0 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio. Should Allen fare well against the 49ers, Rivera may have to make a tough decision. But the Panthers are not at that point yet.

Injury Updates: Green, Mahomes, Newton

October 20th, 2019 at 9:23am CST by Rory Parks

It doesn’t look like A.J. Green is going anywhere. Despite Bengals head coach Zac Taylor insisting that the team would not trade its injured star prior to the October 29 deadline, there was still plenty of speculation that Cincinnati would make a deal if it got the right offer. But Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Green, who returned to practice on a limited basis earlier this month, will not be ready to play until after the deadline.

Green is progressing nicely in his return, per Schefter, but the Bengals want to ensure a complete recovery before bringing him back, which makes it sound as though they have every intention of re-signing him this offseason (and, as Ben Baby of ESPN.com tweets, it’s an interesting contrast to the dispute between Cincinnati and Cordy Glenn). So if your team is looking for a WR upgrade, you can probably go ahead and scratch Green off your wish list.

Now for two more high-profile injury updates:

Ian Rapoport of NFLcom (video link) has positive news on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Per RapSheet, surgery (even in the offseason) has not been discussed, which contradicts a report from several days ago. Rapoport says Mahomes will miss at least the next three games, which means he will be sidelined for matchups against the Packers, Vikings, and Titans. Then, Kansas City travels to Mexico City for a game against the Chargers, and as Matt Miller of Bleacher Report observes, the field surface at Estadio Azteca could be questionable (Twitter link). The Chiefs have a bye after their sojourn across the border, so, in keeping with the earlier reports, it seems like a Week 13 return against the Raiders is the safest bet. Schefter says Mahomes could be back even sooner than the three-week minimum that Rapoport detailed, though that would seem like a very risk move on the Chiefs’ part. Luckily, Herbie Teope of the Kansas City Star tweets that Mahomes’ visit for a second opinion went well, though Teope does not offer a timeline for the star QB’s return.
The Panthers are perfectly content for Cam Newton to take as much time as necessary to recover from his foot injury given that the club is 4-0 under backup Kyle Allen. Carolina is on a bye this week, and Newton is expected to return to the practice field in the coming days, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says the team has not yet begun to discuss the QB situation, even privately. That means that, as long as Allen keeps performing, he may keep playing, which is consistent with reports from last week. In any event, the Panthers will not address the issue until Newton is back to 100%.

Kyle Allen May Remain Panthers’ Starting QB

October 13th, 2019 at 8:29am CST by Rory Parks

There is still no definitive word as to when Panthers QB Cam Newton, who is dealing with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot, might return to the field. The public has assumed that Newton will be back after the team’s bye next week, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that isn’t necessarily the case.

After all, Carolina has rattled off three straight wins with Newton’s backup, 23-year-old Kyle Allen, under center. Although Allen hasn’t been brilliant since his Week 3 performance against the Cardinals, he has been plenty good enough, and if the team should beat the Buccaneers in London today, it will be very difficult for the Panthers to switch right back to Newton.

Of course, no decision is going to be made before Newton is completely healthy. But a team source told Rapoport that, if the Panthers defeat the Bucs, Allen will remain the starter. If Tampa Bay wins, then that could pave the way for Newton to take his job back after the bye week.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says that, regardless of the outcome of today’s contest over the pond, Allen will remain the starter for at least the Panthers’ Week 8 matchup against the 49ers, and perhaps for the club’s Week 9 game versus the Titans. If Carolina and/or Allen should falter over the next several weeks, and if Newton has made a full recovery, then it would not be difficult for head coach Ron Rivera to turn the reins back over to the former No. 1 overall pick. But if Allen and the Panthers continue to play well, the former UDFA might continue to hear his number called.

Injury Updates: Juszczyk, Newton, Leonard

October 8th, 2019 at 8:15pm CST by Rory Parks

We rounded up a few injury updates earlier today, and now we have another batch to pass along:

49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk will miss four to six weeks of action with a sprained MCL, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets. Pelissero also says Juice, one of the league’s most important fullbacks, will get a second opinion. There is some hope that the Harvard product can return before four weeks.
Panthers QB Cam Newton will not travel with the team to London this week, as Brendan Marks of the Charlotte Observer writes. Head coach Ron Rivera said Newton is making progress in his rehab of a Lisfranc injury in his left foot, but there’s still no definitive word as to when he might return.
The Colts are on a bye this week, and they should have a big boost when they return. LB Darius Leonard, who has missed the last three games with a concussion, shared a photo on IG saying he’s been cleared to play.
Raiders DE Arden Key suffered a sprained patellar tendon during the team’s win over the Bears on Sunday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). He will miss several weeks, which led Oakland to work out a few edge defenders today.

Cam Newton Discusses Foot Injury

September 28th, 2019 at 8:54am CST by Ben Levine

In a video blog released on YouTube, Cam Newton provided some clarity on his foot ailment. The Panthers quarterback acknowledged that he’s recovering from a Lisfranc injury that he originally suffered during his team’s preseason loss to the Patriots. He later aggravated the injury during Carolina’s Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers. Newton said he should have been more transparent about his left foot following the season opener.

“This is when I got in my own way,” Newton said (via ESPN’s David Newton). “Because, automatically, I thought, ‘I’ve got to play Week 1. I can’t let my fans down. I’ve got to be there for my team.'”

The quarterback also acknowledged that he’s going to take as long as he needs to get back to full strength.

“I’ve decided I will take time away from the game,” Newton said. “This is me being the bigger person and being real with myself and saying, ‘Look, what’s the ultimate goal you’re trying to accomplish? Win the Super Bowl. OK, if you want to win the Super Bowl, this is the step you’ve got to take.’

“It could very well be a week. Or two weeks. It could be three weeks, it could be four weeks, it could be six weeks. But I have to understand and know if it takes that time, I trust in this team that they will — we will — still be in a great situation by the time I get back.”

In two games this season, the 30-year-old completed only 56.2-percent of his passes for 572 yards and one interception. Kyle Allen will continue to start in Newton’s place.

Latest On Panthers’ Cam Newton

September 24th, 2019 at 10:43am CST by Zachary Links

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is believed to be dealing with a Lisfranc injury, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. Newton is hoping to avoid surgery, but at minimum, he’ll probably be out for a while.

For now, it will remain Kyle Allen‘s show under center. The young QB led the Panthers to victory over the Cardinals on Monday – so far, so good.

The 23-year-old Allen completed 19-of-26 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns against Arizona, which was a solid performance against an admittedly flawed team. The Cardinals’ issues aside, Allen looked a lot sharper than the banged-up Newton has as of late.

In his two games, Newton did score a single touchdown and completed only 49% of his passes in Week 2. According to Pro Football Focus, 34% of his passes were “uncatchable.”

Panthers’ Cam Newton Won’t Play Vs. Texans

September 23rd, 2019 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

Cam Newton‘s absence will continue. On Monday head coach Ron Rivera announced that Newton will not be on the field when the Panthers face the Texans on Sunday.

“We want him at 100% when he’s ready, so there’s no exact timetable for his return,” Rivera said.

Newton was unable to join the Panthers for Week Three against the Cardinals, but backup Kyle Allen was still able to guide them to victory over the Cardinals. The no-Newton decision was made late in the week, so its perhaps telling that Newton has been ruled out days in advance of the club’s Week Four matchup.

The Cardinals aren’t world beaters, but Allen certainly held his own by completing 19-of-26 passes for 261 yards and four scores. In a perfect world, the Panthers would love to have a healthy Newton starting under center, but this is not a perfect world, and Newton has not appeared to be fully healthy in quite some time.

Extra Points: Newton, Barkley, Edelman

September 22nd, 2019 at 9:34pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers’ season got off to a disastrous start, as the team limped out to an 0-2 record and Cam Newton re-injured himself. It looked like they were quickly circling the drain, and then Kyle Allen happened. Allen was nearly perfect starting in place of Newton, averaging ten yards per attempt and tossing four touchdowns while leading Carolina to a road win over Arizona. Allen’s performance was so strong, that it sparked some talk of a potential quarterback controversy.

Speaking after the game Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said the starting job is still Newton’s when he’s healthy but that right now they’re “rolling” with Allen, per Joseph Person of The Athletic (Twitter link). Newton won’t be getting benched, but Rivera’s comments don’t exactly inspire confidence that he’ll be back soon. Newton aggravated a foot injury he suffered during the preseason, and his throwing shoulder which he underwent surgery on this offseason hasn’t looked 100 percent either. It’ll be very interesting too see what happens next, but with Allen’s emergence it appears Carolina’s quarterback situation isn’t as dire as it originally seemed.

Here’s more from around the league:

We’ve heard that Giants running back Saquon Barkley has suffered a high ankle sprain and is going to miss some time, and now we have Barkley’s thoughts on his injury. “I’m not out for the season,” Barkley said, via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “I’m going to do whatever I can to get back as quickly as possible.” Barkley told Jordan Ranaan of ESPN.com that he had a high ankle sprain his freshman year at Penn State, and that he only missed two games with that injury (Twitter link). Right now two missed games would probably be a best-case scenario.
Patriots receiver Julian Edelman was knocked out of New England’s win over the Jets with a rib injury, but fortunately it doesn’t seem too serious. X-Rays on his ribs were negative, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that it’s an “early positive sign,” which would seem to suggest he isn’t completely out of the woods yet. In the wake of Antonio Brown‘s release, the Patriots’ receiving corp would suddenly go from loaded to a bit thin if Edelman has to miss any time.
In case you missed it, Redskins tight end Jordan Reed‘s career is in doubt.

Latest On Cam Newton

September 22nd, 2019 at 1:36pm CST by PFR Staff

Despite reports that Cam Newton could miss several games as the Panthers try to avoid aggravating his foot sprain, there is a chance the former MVP could practice on Wednesday, paving the way for him to play next week against the Texans, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Newton has been dealing with a foot issue since the preseason and aggravated it in last week’s ugly loss to Tampa Bay. After two games, it is clear that Newton is well below 100% strength, as he has yet to score a touchdown, via the air or ground, and completed only 49% of his passes last week, with 34% of his passes being deemed “uncatchable”.

It would be wise for the Panthers coaching staff to wait until Newton is fully healed before having him return to the field and risk a re-injury to his foot.

In the interim, Kyle Allen will start for the Panthers for the foreseeable future, beginning with today’s matchup with the Cardinals. In his lone career start last year, a win against the Saints, Allen played well, completing 16 of 27 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns.

Panthers’ Cam Newton Unlikely To Play Vs. Cardinals

September 19th, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers are unlikely to have Cam Newton in uniform when they face the Cardinals on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. If Newton is sidelined, the Panthers will turn to Kyle Allen as their starter.

Newton’s foot sprain recovery has come along much slower than expected and his outlook for the rest of the season is murky, at best. Through two games, it’s clear that Newton is playing at far below 100% strength – he has yet to score a touchdown via the air or ground, and he completed just 49% of his passes in a rough outing against the Bucs last week.

The Panthers are hoping for an inverse of their 2018 season, which saw a strong beginning and a bumpy finish. After a 6-2 start, they went 1-7 as Newton battled a shoulder issue. That achey shoulder ultimately landed Newton on the bench for the final two games of the campaign.

After the Cardinals, the 0-2 Panthers will face the Texans and Jaguars in Weeks 4 and 5.