Just before halftime of Carolina’s 30-20 victory over the Jets on Sunday, quarterback Cam Newton came up with a little bit of a limp after Jets defensive tackle (and occasional running back) Sheldon Richardson tackled him at the end of a scramble.
Newton headed to the locker room before the half officially ended and was the last Panthers player back on the field before the start of the second half, but went on to play the rest of the game without incident. Coach Ron Rivera said Monday that Newton injured his toe on Richardson’s tackle, but that the injury was “not that big a deal.”
“The reason we took him off early was because we had to cut the tape off and let them double-check and make sure everything was fine,” Rivera said, via Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. “Everything came out OK.”
Rivera said Newton’s mobility was not impacted by the injury and his early departure in the second half was the only outward sign of concern about the quarterback’s condition during the game. Based on that, Newton should be good to go for next Sunday’s showdown with the Saints for the top spot in the NFC South.