Heading into the season, questions surrounding Cam Newton centered around offseason shoulder surgery and whether or not he’d be able to throw the football at a prolific level again. Well, the Panthers quarterback hasn’t been able to get in a rhythm with his new throwing motion as the injury bug has taken another bite out of the former NFL MVP.
In Carolina’s third preseason contest earlier this summer, Newton was taken down by Patriots defensive tackle Adam Butler and injured his foot. He limped off the field and never returned. While he status was in question leading up to the opener, Newton was able to play, but he did re-aggravate the injury in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Up to that point, Newton’s injury was characterized as a mild foot sprain. Now that more specifics are coming in, it looks like it could be worst than that.
Joe Person of The Athletic was first to report on Tuesday that Newton is dealing with a Lisfranc injury and is out indefinitely.
This comes after the Panthers quickly ruled out Newton for their Week 4 contest against the Texans in a statement on Monday, while also announcing that Kyle Allen will once again start under center.
“What Cam needs right now is time and rest for his foot. We want him at 100 percent when he’s ready, so there’s no exact timetable for his return,” head coach Ron Rivera said in the statement. “At this point, we’re going to go forward with Kyle (Allen) as our starter.”
A Lisfranc injury is a pretty serious situation for Newton as it could not only result in his season being in jeopardy, but his running ability could be hindered dramatically for the rest of his career if it’s severe enough. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network did report that the plan currently is for Newton to keep rehabbing in hopes of returning and avoiding surgery.
Through those two games with Carolina this season, Newton completed just 56.2% of his passes for 572 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Panthers offense, meanwhile, is left in good hands with starter Kyle Allen, who threw for four touchdowns and 261 yards on a 73.1 completion percentage in their Week 3 win over the Cardinals.
