Cam Newton may be the Panthers’ starting quarterback on Sunday against the Washington Football Team.
Although coach Matt Rhule didn’t commit to Newton starting, he strongly suggested it today by saying that Newton will do most of the work with the first-string offense this week. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have Newton do the first-team work if the Panthers were going back to P.J. Walker on Sunday.
“I don’t want Cam-lite. I want the full Cam,” Rhule said, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. “We’ll give Cam most of the reps and get him up to speed as much as possible.”
Newton played nine snaps in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals and completed three of four passes for eight yards and one touchdown, while also running three times for 14 yards and one touchdown. Walker played reasonably well as the starter, but Newton has higher upside, and Rhule wants to see that upside as the Panthers attempt to make a playoff push down the stretch.