Panthers quarterback Cam Newton increased his workload in practice Monday, which could lead to his first work of the preseason.
Via David Newton of ESPN.com, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said they need to see whether Newton shows up to work in the morning sore before they declare whether he’ll play Thursday night in Jacksonville. He hasn’t played in the preseason after undergoing right shoulder surgery in March.
“The big key for us is how he feels in the morning just to make sure nothing is sore or tightened,” Rivera said. “But he looked really good.
“He and I talked at the end of practice and one thing he told me was he still feels like his timing is off as well as his decision-making. It’ll be with him the reps. As long as he’s getting quality reps and we’re not overusing him, he’s going to be fine.”
They’d like to get Newton some time in the preseason, but they knew he wasn’t going to play last week in Tennessee after he threw just 10 passes during team drills during their joint workouts with the Titans.
The Panthers also saw more of second-round pick Curtis Samuel Monday than they have since the first day of training camp. He’s been out with a hamstring problem, and Rivera seemed less inclined to rush him onto the field in a game.
“We want to be smart with him,” Rivera said. “We don’t want to put him in a situation where he goes from zero to 50 right away. We’ll take a good look. If he has a good day tomorrow we’ll consider it.”
Since they were hoping Samuel could replace some of the deep speed they lost when free agent Ted Ginn went to New Orleans, getting Samuel some reps would be nice. Much of their offseason emphasis on adapting their offense centered on the speed Samuel and Christian McCaffrey would add.