Not so fast: Cam Newton not ready to return after Panthers' bye week
Cam Newton isn’t ready to return to the Carolina Panthers just yet. Kyle Allen will start the team’s Week 8 game while Newton continues to recover from a foot injury, head coach Ron Rivera announced Monday.
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Newton, 30, has been sidelined since Week 2 due to a foot injury. He’s been working his way back from the injury, and there was some thought Newton could return following the Panthers’ bye in Week 7. That’s not going to happen. Newton will need at least another week to work with team trainers. He’s not expected to practice this week.
The Panthers are taking a cautious approach with Newton. Part of that might be because the team wants to be 100 percent sure his foot is completely healed before he returns to action. Another part of it might have to do with Allen being a perfect 4-0 under center.
While Allen has played well, his numbers haven’t set the world on fire in Newton’s absence. After a huge 4-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals, Allen has thrown for 3 touchdowns against 0 interceptions in the Panthers’ last three games. The 23-year-old Allen has good job keeping the Panthers in games, but he hasn’t shown the game-changing ability of Newton.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it’s working well for the Panthers right now. Allen, however, could be forced to shoulder more of the load when the team takes on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8. The 49ers have one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Even if Allen leads the Panthers to a win over San Francisco, he is still expected to sit once Newton is healthy. But as long as Allen keeps winning games, the Panthers have no need to rush Newton back from his injury.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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