The last day of school is traditionally an exercise in dormancy, a full day of running out the clock until summer break begins. That wasn’t the case for the Carolina Panthers, because even though today marked their final day at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, training camp isn’t over. Not by a long shot. Head coach Ron Rivera says he told the players that when they get back to Charlotte, camp continues, and even though they won’t be in front of the fans, they’ll continue to work until the regular season begins. The large crowd got to see quarterback Cam Newton throw during live team drills for the first time in exactly two weeks, and while he missed on a few passes, the red zone drills in which Newton was a participant produced three touchdowns. It was certainly a step forward for Newton in his march towards the regular season after offseason shoulder surgery; he appeared to suffer a setback when he reported a sore shoulder on July 30, and has not thrown in a live team drill since. He only began throwing during individual drills on Friday after missing Wednesday’s first preseason game against the Texans.
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— The Riot Report (@RRiotReport) August 13, 2017
Newton was back to his usual effervescent training camp personality, dancing during stretches and celebrating with his teammates after big plays, but calling it quits on live throwing after the first set of team drills. All eyes will continue to be on Newton as he heads to Nashville for joint practice on Wednesday against the Titans. Here were some storylines we noticed today:
Bunches Of Funchess
Devin Funchess had another spectacular touchdown catch, his second in two days of battling against James Bradberry on the outside; while Kelvin Benjamin had the gaudy catches against the Texans on Wednesday night, it has been Funchess who has, at times, looked like the better wide receiver during training camp. Funchess’ combination of speed and height has made him a preseason darling, but the Michigan product has yet to put it all together during the regular season. He was called the MVP of training camp in 2016, but his play this camp may have been even better.
Teddy Williams, Rough Rider
Teddy Williams had a nice day at practice today, with pass breakups in coverage against both Austin Duke and Damiere Byrd. The special teams ace seems to have established himself as one of the primary backups on the outside with undrafted free agent Cole Luke, but both will have to play much better throughout the preseason to have cornerback not be a position of need when over 1,000 players flood the open market on September 2nd. Don’t be surprised to see the Panthers sign a corner sooner rather than later as well so that they can evaluate them throughout camp. While Williams is an asset in the third aspect of the game, his skills in coverage leave something to be desired.
News & Notes
- Damiere Byrd had another eye-popping play, this one a catch in traffic down the middle of the field. Byrd has pulled away as the top candidate for the fifth wide receiver position in the past week, but there are still three more weeks of preseason.
- Kawann Short has been a menace up front, at one point getting so much penetration that he was literally in the backfield as Cam Newton handed off to Fozzy Whittaker. With no contact, it wasn’t as impressive, but had that been a real game, Short might have forced a fumble.
- Graham Gano was kicking long field goals (60+) on the opposite fields during the session today, and head coach Ron Rivera said that he has a sizable lead over seventh round pick Harrison Butker.
- Taylor Moton took most of the reps as the second team left tackle with Amini Silatolu out today. Silatolu is expected to return Wednesday, so Moton will move back to the right side. Still exciting to see the rookie able to get reps at multiple positions.
Be sure to follow us on twitter at @RRiotReport for constant updates as they happen, we’ll see you in Nashville!
Previous Training Camp Reports:
- July 26, 2017
- July 27, 2017
- July 28, 2017
- July 29, 2017
- July 30, 2017
- August 1, 2017
- August 2, 2017
- August 3, 2017
- August 4, 2017
- August 6, 2017
- August 7, 2017
- August 8, 2017
- August 11, 2017
- August 12, 2017
