The Cam Newton injury watch shifted from shoulder to foot over the course of the past five days – when Newton limped to the bench and grimaced while Dr. Pat Connor and Ryan Vermillion examined his foot on the sidelins of Gillette Stadium , the fanbase officially forgot about the right shoulder that Newton had a procedure to address in January and got laser focused on what a serious foot injury looks like. And then held their collective breath until a further diagnosis, only letting some air out when x-rays came back clean and then again when Newton was out of the walking boot in the locker room over the weekend.
Now, you can fully exhale as Ron Rivera said that the Panthers franchise quarterback would be ready for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams after continuing to practice in a limited fashion on Tuesday afternoon.
“He threw again, got a nice little workout with [Vermillion] on the side,” said Rivera after practice Tuesday. “He’s made good strides and we’re pretty excited about it because we’ll have a couple of extra days of practice to get ready for the Rams.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind. Everything he’s been doing, everything he’s done [has been] exactly what he needed to. We’re at the point now, where it’s just a matter of time [until] he’s back on the field.”
Newton, who left last Thursday’s game in New England and headed to the locker room after injuring his foot on only his eleventh snap of the game, is expected to rejoin practice next week when the Panthers begin their preparation in earnest for their Week 1 opener, but will not play this Thursday night in the team’s preseason finale against the Steelers.
The Panthers play the Rams at 1p on September 8th at Bank of America Stadium.
