Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton to Throw in Twelve Weeks

The Carolina Panthers gave a little jolt to their fan base by announcing a surgery for starter Cam Newton.

Cam Newton had surgery earlier this week to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right throwing shoulder. He should be throwing in about twelve weeks and will be back for the start of the season. What is interesting about Newton’s surgery is that this injury has been an issue since about week 14 of last season. That means Newton played hurt in the last two games of the season and the team knew about it.

The first response has to be relief. Newton did not seem to quite have the zip on his throw that he needs in order to succeed as a passer. There were interceptions against the Falcons and the Buccaneers that Newton doesn’t throw if he had been healthy. So Newton is not regressing mentally so much as he was beat up physically.

Second response has be a scratch of the head. Entering the Atlanta game, the Panthers had a slim chance of making the playoffs as a wild card team. After that loss, they were officially out of it. I even called for them to bench a number of people for the Tampa Bay game. Newton played in that game even though little was served by it. Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman could only comment that Cam wanted to play.