Cam Newton To Miss Time?
Following Thursday night’s game, Ron Rivera said Cam Newton‘s early-season struggles were not due to injury. The Panthers’ stance has changed on this front, and their ninth-year quarterback looks set to miss time.
Newton informed Panthers officials of foot pain after the team’s loss to the Buccaneers last Thursday, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. No solid timeline for the former MVP’s return exists, per GM Marty Hurney. This is another mid-foot sprain, per Albert Breer of SI.com (on Twitter). Newton suffered this injury in Week 3 of the preseason and re-aggravated it Thursday. He missed nearly two weeks of practice recovering from the initial foot injury.
It almost certainly sounds like Kyle Allen will start this week against the Cardinals. Allen, who finished last season as the Panthers’ starter, resides in front of third-round rookie Will Grier on Carolina’s depth chart. The Panthers do not plan to sign a veteran in the interim, Rivera added.
Newton initially suffered this foot injury in his short preseason cameo. He played in the Panthers’ first two games but was not especially effective, finishing Week 2 with a 48% completion rate. The Panthers have lost Newton’s past eight starts, this record coinciding with the former MVP’s foot and shoulder maladies. Newton has delivered the highest percentage of uncatchable passes through two games, per Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo (on Twitter).
Allen and Grier split reps in practice Tuesday. This could be a multi-game absence. The Panthers travel to Arizona and Houston in Weeks 3-4 before returning home to face the Jaguars. Carolina’s bye is not until Week 7.
NFC Notes: 49ers, Newton, Lions, Vikings
After a report indicated the 49ers brought longtime offensive line coach Chris Foerster out of coaching exile surfaced Friday, Kyle Shanahan confirmed as much. The third-year 49ers coach said Foerster joined San Francisco’s staff as a consultant. Consultants do not serve as in-game coaches, and Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area notes the 49ers have Foerster working on film and in position group meetings. Shanahan said the 49ers brought on Foerster as a consultant last year and elevated his duties in 2019, though the 57-year-old assistant — who has 20-plus years of NFL coaching experience — is still classified as a consultant. Shanahan and Foerster worked together in Washington.
“He is still in a consulting role because I do understand the seriousness of this matter,” Shanahan said of Foerster, who resigned from the Dolphins in 2017 after a video showed him snorting a white powdery substance. “We’re trying to ease him back in. I understand how big of a problem he did have. I also understand what he’s doing in committing to fix that problem. We’re trying to give him a chance to get back on track.
“He’s done that exactly the right way for two years. We will see if he continues to do that, and then we will reassess that after this year.”
Here is the latest from the NFC:
- Some positive news for Cam Newton. Although the Panthers quarterback remains in a walking boot and without a definitive return timetable, Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes (subscription required) the team was encouraged by the follow-up MRI the ninth-year passer underwent. If Newton continues to progress in his recovery from a mid-foot sprain, Rodrigue adds he is expected to participate in practice in some capacity Monday. This would point to the veteran being ready for Week 1. Kyle Allen received first crack at Newton’s reps Saturday, but David Newton of ESPN.com notes Will Grier split time evenly with Carolina’s presumptive QB2. Ron Rivera confirmed the Panthers will not work out quarterbacks.
- More good news on the injury front. Matt Patricia said (via the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers, on Twitter) he is not considering an IR trip for Jarrad Davis, who was carted to the Lions‘ locker room Friday night. Davis suffered a lower-leg injury against the Bills. Were Davis to be placed on IR in between next weekend and Week 1, he would miss at least eight regular-season weeks. This points to the Lions expecting him back during the first half of the season, at the latest.
- Frank Ragnow, too, appears to have dodged a bullet. The Lions center suffered what’s being categorized as a minor ankle sprain Friday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The Lions are typically vague regarding injuries, with Patricia declining to elaborate on the nature of those suffered by Ragnow and Davis. But the second-year coach said (via Rogers) neither player is believed to have suffered a season-nullifying malady.
- The Vikings and since-cut long snapper Kevin McDermott agreed to an injury settlement, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. McDermott suffered an elbow injury, which required surgery this week, and will collect $150K via this settlement. Austin Cutting beat out the longtime incumbent for Minnesota’s snapping job.
Panthers Optimistic Newton Can Play Week 1
Cam Newton left Thursday night’s game early due to injury, and Panthers GM Marty Hurney said Friday the ninth-year quarterback suffered a sprained foot. Newton left Gillette Stadium in a walking boot.
The Panthers are “cautiously optimistic” Newton will be able to suit up in Week 1, David Newton of ESPN.com notes. While Hurney called the injury a “mild” sprain, it is officially a mid-foot sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).
A first-quarter sack (Twitter link via SI.com’s Albert Breer) ended Newton’s night and shifted uncertainty surrounding the Carolina quarterback from his throwing shoulder to his left foot. This particular injury can linger. Although Newton has been incredibly durable throughout his career, this is certainly not ideal after the months of shoulder rehab the 30-year-old passer went through this year.
Newton’s troublesome throwing shoulder, which required another surgery in January, prompted the Panthers to hold him out of their first two preseason games. It may now come down to the wire for Week 1 because of this sprain. Newton has battled shoulder problems since 2017 and underwent left ankle surgery in 2014. He has only missed five games in his career.
Carolina featured an underwhelming contingent of backups behind Newton last season but drafted Will Grier in this year’s third round. Rivera turned to Kyle Allen over Grier after Newton’s exit Thursday, however, pointing to the former UDFA (and Week 17 Panthers starter) being first in line to replace Newton if necessary. The Panthers do not plan to bring in any additional quarterbacks, with Rapoport adding Allen indeed will likely take the majority of the first-team reps in near-future practices.
South Rumors: Mariota, Jags, Falcons, Bucs
This season did not produce the uptick in Marcus Mariota production the Titans wanted, but part of the reason for that was the starting quarterback’s multiple injuries. Elbow troubles plagued Mariota for much of this season, but he is not expected to need offseason surgery, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. A nerve issue affected Mariota (11 touchdown passes, eight interceptions, 2,528 passing yards) this season and cost him a chance to help the Titans back into the playoffs, forcing Blaine Gabbert back into action in Week 17. Mariota is attached to a $20.9MM fifth-year option in 2019.
As the 2019 hiring period ignites, here’s the latest from the South divisions a
- Dirk Koetter‘s interview for his old job as Falcons offensive coordinator will occur Saturday, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. The Falcons’ OC from 2012-14, Koetter is a free agent again after being fired by the Buccaneers. He may well be the leading candidate to succeed Steve Sarkisian running Atlanta’s offense. Matt Ryan has praised Koetter in the recent past. Mike Mularkey, Atlanta’s OC from 2008-11, and Darrell Bevell are the other known candidates.
- The Jaguars voided the $7.1MM in remaining guarantees in Leonard Fournette‘s rookie contract. He has 50 days to file a grievance, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes Fournette surely will. Florio argues the contract does not include language addressing the voiding of guarantees for on-field misconduct, and such an omission will be key for the former top-five pick keeping those guarantees in his four-year deal.
- Although the Jets are believed to be ready to make a run at Le’Veon Bell, Albert Breer of SI.com does not see that pursuit winning out. Instead, Breer said during an interview with Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd (via the Tampa Bay Times) the Buccaneers are his best guess as to who will be signing the running back’s checks in 2019. This would be interesting because of the Jets’ cap-space advantage ($106MM-plus to $17MM-plus, though the Bucs can clear a substantial amount of room without incurring dead money) and the fact Tampa Bay used a 2018 second-round pick on Ronald Jones.
- Kyle Allen was not the first player summoned to action when Cam Newton was shut down, but he ended the season as the Panthers‘ quarterback. His short stay as the Panthers’ first-stringer earned him a legitimate chance to be Newton’s backup next season, Breer notes. Allen was a UDFA but came to college as a five-star recruit. He threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions in Carolina’s season-finale win over New Orleans.
- Alex Okafor stood to miss a $400K bonus because he fell one sack short of the incentive’s five-sack threshold, but, interestingly, the Saints paid him the bonus anyway, per NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson. This could be a key component of the starting defensive end’s upcoming decision on whether or not to opt out of his contract. Okafor signed a two-year deal with a player option to stay in New Orleans and has until the final day of the 2018 league year to decide on the option.
Latest On Panthers’ Quarterbacks
It sounds like Cam Newton will be able to avoid offseason shoulder surgery. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Panthers quarterback doesn’t have any structural damage to his throwing shoulder (Twitter link). This means Newton won’t have to undergo surgery (or deal with the accompanying rehab) during the offseason.
While Newton only recently acknowledged his shoulder injury, Rapoport says the quarterback had been dealing with pain through the second half of the season. This clearly had an impact on his production; over his past three games, Newton threw only two touchdowns vs. six interceptions (he had thrown seven interceptions in his team’s previous 11 games). The Panthers decided to shut down their franchise quarterback, allowing Taylor Heinicke to take over as the starter.
Unfortunately, the former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion also suffered an injury during yesterday’s loss to the Falcons. Head coach Ron Rivera said Heinicke will undergo an MRI on his elbow today (via ESPN’s David Newton on Twitter). The quarterback was briefly knocked out of yesterday’s game after suffering an elbow injury, but he returned and managed to finish the game. He ended up completing 33 of his 53 pass attempts for 274 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He also added 33 rushing yards.
If Heinicke is unable to go during the team’s season finale against the Saints, Kyle Allen would likely earn the starting nod. The rookie quarterback had a brief cameo during yesterday’s contest, completing all four of his passes for 38 yards. Newton notes that activating Newton “doesn’t sound like an option.” Joe Person of The Athletic tweets that the team could also consider adding signal-caller Garrett Gilbert, who was cut by the team prior to the regular season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/18
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: LB Jonathan Anderson
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted from practice squad: QB Kyle Allen, TE Jason Vander Laan
Miami Dolphins
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Frank Gore (story)
New York Giants
- Activated from injured reserve: WR Cody Latimer (story)
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Kenneth Durden
Washington Redskins
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Jeremy Reaves
- Placed on injured reserve: CB Danny Johnson
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/1/18
Today’s practice squad updates:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: QB Kyle Allen
- Released: S Dezmen Southward
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Reggie Davis
Detroit Lions
- Signed: TE Jerome Cunningham
- Placed on injured list: LB Garret Dooley
Green Bay Packers
- Released: FB Joe Kerridge
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: T Antonio Garcia
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Victor Bolden, DB Greg Mabin
- Released: WR Aaron Burbridge
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DB Jason Thompson
NFL Workout Updates: 10/29/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise specified.
Buffalo Bills
- QB Kyle Allen (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- T Antonio Garcia, T De’Ondre Wesley (link)
New York Giants
- LB Jonathan Anderson, CB De’Vante Bausby, DE Will Clark, QB Connor Cook, WR Marcus Easley, WR Brittan Golden, DT Woodrow Hamilton, RB Akeem Hunt, T Roubbens Joseph, LB Corey Nelson, DT Chris Okoye, WR Francis Owusu, LS Taybor Pepper, T Dan Skipper, LB Aaron Wallace, S Terrell Williams (Twitter links via Balzer and ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan)
Seattle Seahawks
- S Michael Cirino, LB James Onwualu (link)
Tennessee Titans
- FB Dimitri Flowers, FB Jalson Fowler, FB Malcolm Johnson, FB Aaron Ripkowski (Twitter link via Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)
Washington Redskins
- S Kurtis Drummond, S Kelcie McCray, S Jason Thompson, S J.J. Wilcox (link)
Manuel, Allen Join 49ers’ QB Auditions
The 49ers are doing their homework in their search for a backup quarterback. More names continue to surface as Kyle Shanahan‘s coaching staff examines how they’ll go about organizing their post-Jimmy Garoppolo passer depth chart.
E.J. Manuel and Kyle Allen worked out for the 49ers on Tuesday, NFL reporter Howard Balzer tweets. This brings the total of San Francisco signal-caller auditions to seven. Tom Savage, T.J. Yates, Matt Simms, Landry Jones, Kellen Clemens, Manuel and Allen comprise the list so far.
San Francisco already promoted quarterback Nick Mullens from its practice squad, and Shanahan said C.J. Beathard will be his starter following Garoppolo’s season-ending ACL tear. But the team appears focused on adding a veteran passer. Shanahan also said Colin Kaepernick will not be considered, due to the longtime 49ers starter not being a good fit for his offense.
Manuel could not make the Raiders’ 53-man roster and has not come close to justifying his former No. 16 overall draft status. However, he was on an NFL roster from 2013-17 and has made 18 career starts. He’s only 58 percent career passer (with just 5.8 yards per attempt) and has a 20-to-16 career TD pass-to-INT ratio.
Allen worked out for the Patriots, Raiders and Redskins this month. The Houston product was a Panthers practice squad cog before the team released him from its 10-man unit earlier in September.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/18/18
Here’s the latest from the NFL workout circuit on a busy Tuesday. All links to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Kennan Gilchrist, Hayes Pullard (Twitter link via Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan)
Atlanta Falcons
- CB Taveze Calhoun, CB Taurean Nixon, CB Malik Reaves (link)
Buffalo Bills
- DT Michael Bennett, DT Quinton Dial, QB Tyler Ferguson, CB Michael Hunter, OL Austin Pasztor, WR Hunter Sharp, WR Brandon Shippen, OL Jylan Ware (link)
Carolina Panthers
- T Isaiah Battle, TE Blake Bell, TE Billy Brown, TE Kyle Carter, T Roubbens Joseph, T Michael Ola, QB Dalton Sturm, T Darrell Williams (link)
Cleveland Browns
- WR Bennie Fowler, WR Dontrelle Inman, LB Azeem Victor (link)
Dallas Cowboys
- CB Jeremy Boykins, WR Chad Hansen, LB Ufomba Kamalu, WR Justice Liggins, DE Cameron Malveaux, WR Francis Owusu, T William Poehls, DT Christian Ringo, DT Adolphus Washington (link)
Detroit Lions
- DT Darius Kilgo (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, on Twitter)
Houston Texans
- RB Matthew Dayes, DE Anthony Lanier, RB Jeremy McNichols, CB Herb Waters, CB D.J. White, WR Isaac Whitney (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- T Gerhard de Beer, T Christian DiLauro, T Antonio Garcia, WR Francis Owusu, WR Brandon Reilly, WR Travis Rudolph (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- TE Jerell Adams, TE Nick Keizer, TE David Wells, , (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Los Angeles Chargers
- G Spencer Drango, T Jamar McGloster (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Los Angeles Rams
- G Ian Silberman, T David Steinmetz, T Darrell Williams (link)
New England Patriots
- QB Kyle Allen, RB Andre Ellington, RB Charcandrick West (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
New Orleans Saints
- LB Jonathan Freeny, LB Josh Keyes, LB Darnell Sankey, LB Martrell Spaight (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB De’Vante Bausby, DE Hunter Dimick, DT Sealver Siliga, LB Emmanuel Smith, CB Herb Waters, LB Antwione Williams (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Tennessee Titans
- CB Makinton Dorleant, DT Darius Kilgo, DT Dee Liner, DT Jamie Meder, S Josh Robinson, CB Henre’ Toliver (link)
Washington Redskins
- G Kofi Amichia, G Jamil Douglas, T Chris Durant, C Jake Eldrenkamp, T Justin Evans, G Kaleb Johnson (link)