According to Jason La Canfora, it’s highly unlikely Panthers QB Cam Newton will be able to play in Week 8 against the 49ers when the team returns from its bye.
La Canfora adds Newton could miss another game after that as he continues to work his way back to 100 percent. There’s a sense Newton will need multiple weeks of rehab, practice with his receivers and increased conditioning to reach that benchmark.
La Canfora relays that he’s been told it’s not an absolute certainty Newton gets the starting job back when he is healthy. The Panthers have not even discussed the situation yet and won’t until it comes up.
Newton’s replacement, Kyle Allen has led the team to four straight wins since taking over for Newton and is 5-0 as a starter including last season, which makes this a particularly interesting decision for Carolina.
Newton has been dealing with what he called a mild Lisfranc injury. When he first suffered the injury in Week 3 of the preseason, the team initially called a midfoot sprain, though the two terms are somewhat synonymous.
After two games, the team made the decision to rest Newton until he was fully healthy. Newton did not need surgery for the injury and the expected timeline to recover is between four and eight weeks.
Newton, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2011. He is entering the fifth year of his six-year, $118.47 million contract that includes $60 million guaranteed and stands to make base salaries of $16.2 million and $18.6 million over the final two years of the agreement.
In 2019, Newton has appeared in two games for the Panthers, completing 50 out of 89 passes for 572 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He has also rushed five times for -2 yards.
We’ll have more regarding Newton as the news is available.
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