Carolina Panthers might have quarterback Cam Newton ready for the season opener after all. Newton was recently diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain in his left foot, but according to general manager Marty Hurney, the team is “cautiously optimistic” he will recover by Week 1.
Newton suffered the injury in Thursday’s preseason game against New England Patriots and was later seen with a walking boot. Still, the x-rays on his foot showed that the injury isn’t as significant as Carolina feared and that the 30-year-old shouldn’t be sidelined for a long period.
“It’s really hard to put a timeframe because it depends how he responds each day,” – said Hurney. “But as I said, we feel this has got a chance to come around quick enough where he’ll be ready to play Week 1. We’ll see how it goes.”
The game against the Pats was Cam Newton’s first preseason appearances as he spent the first part of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. Newton had issues with his throwing should for the better part of 2018, but decided to play through pain. He was eventually sidelined after Week 14 when Panthers lost chances to get into playoffs.
Newton finished 2018 by completing career-high 67.5 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,395 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also rushed for 488 yards and four TDs.
