After keeping the public guessing until Friday of last week, the Panthers went in the other direction – announcing Monday morning, less than 24 hours after backup quarterback Kyle Allen led the team to their first win, that franchise QB Cam Newton would continue to rest his sprained foot for Week 4 and had been ruled out against the Texans.
“It was really to answer the question that I was probably going to get,” said Ron Rivera to open his Monday press conference. “Just so everybody understands, there is no timetable – and just really kind of end [the speculation].”
“There really is no timetable so we’ll see what happens.”
Rivera did not have an answer when asked if Newton, who did not travel to Arizona, would join the team in Houston.
Ron Rivera on the decision to announce Cam Newton being out Sunday. pic.twitter.com/UF0vDUZcBs
— The Riot Report (@RRiotReport) September 23, 2019
Whether or not the decision has more to do with the play of Allen in Arizona or was due to a re-evaluation of Newton’s foot is irrelevant as the team will give their franchise quarterback at least another week to heal – Newton was 50-of-89 (56.2%, the second-lowest percentage of his career) for 572 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception in the first two games of the year. Among the greatest rushing quarterbacks of all time, Newton had rushed only five times for -2 yards over two games combined. Previous to the last four games, Newton had not played in consecutive games without accounting for a touchdown with either his arm or his legs – the last time he found the end zone was Week 12 of 2018.
Allen, who also started Week 17 last year in a victory for the Panthers, went 19-for-26 with 261 yards with four touchdowns and a 144.4 passer rating against the Cardinals to improve his career record to 2-0.
“I think Kyle’s performance was what we needed,” said Rivera. “He came out and played very well and did the thingds we were hoping he would do – it energizes us at a time when we needed a little bit of energy.”
The Panthers play the Texans Sunday at 1:05p.
