Black and Blue Review
Cam Newton’s left ankle continues to be the biggest little story of the Panthers’ preseason.
On one hand, it’s a completely legitimate concern. The team’s quarterback — and most-important player — is not completely healthy. He tweaked his surgically repaired ankle at least three times in Spartanburg, and early during Thursday’s practice, he called over head trainer Ryan Vermillion.
“It’s not anything different than week’s past,” Newton claimed, when asked about that specific moment. “I’m always trying to keep him posted on my status, feeling good, bad or indifferent.”
On the other hand, for the second straight week, there’s a whole lot of hand-wringing about Newton’s playing time in a meaningless game.
So … how much is he going to be on the field Sunday against the Chiefs?
“We’ll evaluate how he’s doing. We’ll evaluate how the offensive line is playing, and some of the other things as far as the offense is concerned,” head coach Ron Rivera answered. “Right now the initial plan is to get him into the first quarter and then go from there.”
Essentially, Newton will play at least a quarter. Depending on a number of factors, he may play more.
But besides the chemistry and reps angles, it doesn’t matter all that much. What’s mattered most to Newton and the Panthers is still more than three weeks away — the season opener against the Bucs.
“Each day it’s been getting better and better for me,” Newton said. “At this point we don’t want to have any mishaps in the treatment process. I’m doing as much as I can, or as much as (Vermillion) is allowing me to do with my ankle, so I can be 100 percent when the time is needed.”
Or did he?
“Was he out there?, Ron Rivera replied, when asked about Johnson’s return.
“No, I’m just kidding,” Rivera continued. “We got on Charles pretty good about it. He tweeted, ‘Got through another camp,’ and then the guys said, ‘Well, you missed half of it.’ We wanted to poke a little fun at Charles.
“He kept his weight; he kept his conditioning, did a nice job while he was sidelined, working the rest of his body. So it was good to see him out there, good to see him running around making things happen.”
It’s unclear if Johnson will play Sunday against the Chiefs, but he did participate fully in Thursday’s practice.
“I kind of took it easy today,” Johnson said.
Of course, if some of his teammates heard that they could jokingly ask, “just today?!”
Rookie defensive end Kony Ealy, who missed three practices with a foot injury he suffered in thepreseason opener, was back at practice.
“He’s a young guy that made some really good strides, played really well for us,” Ron Rivera said. “Him missing a couple days set him back just a little bit, but him coming back today and practicing the way he did, I’m excited to see him back on the field again.”
For what it’s worth, the 31-year-old Harper isn’t missing all that much. Consider this: The Panthers signed safety Quintin Mikell on Sept. 2 last year, and he ended up starting the season opener a few days later.
Harper has a starting job waiting for him when he comes back. When that will be, though, is still up in the air.
“We have to be smart about it,” Rivera said. “He’s a veteran guy who’s picking things up and he’s staying engaged and involved. It’s really just a matter of time.”
The eighth-year veteran said, “I’m good” when he walked into Thursday’s practice without a helmet, and it’s hard not to believe him. Olsen hasn’t missed a game since his rookie season.
- LB Chase Blackburn, who tweaked his back, did not practice.
- DE Craig Roh practiced for the first time since injuring his ankle early in training camp.
- WR De’Andre Presley, who looked like an intriguing option in the slot during OTAs, had surgery on a stress fracture that forced him to miss all of training camp.
