Tuesday’s Carolina Panthers minicamp was supposed to be extremely exciting. Their franchise quarterback Cam Newton was due to begin throwing for the first time all offseason after shoulder surgery; rookie running back Christian McCaffrey was finally allowed to attend practice as Stanford finished up it’s school year, and something was going to happen with Michael Oher. But a few of these storylines played out before the players even hit the field:
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- Cam Newton will not throw this week. Most fans were tittering about Cam’s underhand throwing last Friday at his annual kickball tournament and excited to see his overhand throwing this week after head coach Ron Rivera announced that he was “ahead of schedule” last week. That statement was walked back by Bill Voth of the Panthers official team site, who reiterated that Newton not throwing is “not a big deal”, as he was not scheduled to throw until after June 22. For anyone still worried:
Greg Olsen on Cam: “He’ll be ready.”
— Joe Person (@josephperson) June 13, 2017
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- Rookie OW Christian McCaffrey was believed to be able to start practicing with the team, but NCAA/NFL rules still prohibit him from attending team activities until the final exam of spring session has been completed, which won’t be until Wednesday night. So the Panthers will not have their rookie until Thursday. This, like Newton not throwing, is not a big deal. McCaffrey has been patiently studying the playbook in Colorado, and has not fallen behind by missing OTAs (which are voluntary) or mandatory minicamp (which is three days of practice).
- Tackle Michael Oher was not seen on the practice field, but did report. After his deleted Instagram post from last week, it’s no surprise Oher could not practice, as he continues to be a part of the concussion protocol. According to Panthers.com Digital Reporter Bill Voth, he arrived in Charlotte this morning and visited with team doctors during the minicamp session.
Michael Oher landed in Charlotte this AM. Seeing doctors now.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) June 13, 2017
Other notes from today’s minicamp session:
- The absences were all to be expected: Oher, McCaffrey, WR Brenton Bersin (who had ankle surgery two weeks ago), DE Charles Johnson (still recovering from microdiscectomy), and former practice squad OT Tyrus Thompson.
- DE Julius Peppers was a light participant today, his first action since the first week of OTA’s. The sixteen year vet was held out previously for soreness, as Rivera stated last week, “This is a 16-year vet. We want to be smart. A guy comes in and we talk about how he’s feeling, he says ‘a little sore’ and then fine, we’re not going to put him out there.” Again, not a big deal (sensing a theme? It’s mid-June).
- Greg Olsen hosted 17-year-old Foster Hale, a Make-A-Wish recipient with leukemia, during the minicamp session; Hale wore a duplicate #88 jersey and ran routes next to Olsen during some drills.
Photo: @Panthers/Twitter
- Bill Voth of Panthers.com says Austin Duke’s chances of making the practice squad are “good”. I am still convinced he can make the 53-man roster; obviously, how he performs during training camp will be the final test.
- With James Bradberry working on the side due to his fractured wrist, safety Dean Marlowe got some time as a cornerback in man coverage drills.
A fairly mundane practice session in beautiful weather in June. This is the offseason.
