Cam Newton's Status Up In The Air

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Photo credit Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

On second thought, Cam Newton’s left foot is bothering him.

Following Carolina’s loss at home to Tampa Bay Thursday night, both the star quarterback and Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said that the previously injured foot wasn’t a cause for Newton’s poor performance.

In fact, Rivera said after the game, “Don’t even worry about the foot. The foot’s got nothing to do with it.”

Turns out, it very well may have.

Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney each said Tuesday that Newton’s status is uncertain for this Sunday’s game at Arizona. So much so, that Newton didn’t practice, but instead was doing rehabilitation on the foot he originally hurt on Aug. 23, in a preseason game at New England.

 His status for Sunday is questionable, which means Newton has a 50-50 chance of playing.

“(I) visited with him and he’s going to do everything he can to get back out as soon as he can,” Rivera said. “He was low about it. … He wants to compete so badly.”

When asked if this was a short-term or long-term situation, Rivera didn’t have an answer.

“I have no idea,” he said. “What he’s going to do is he’s going to get his treatment, and we’ll see how he feels, and we’ll adjust it as we go around through it.”

Rivera said he doesn’t exactly know when Newton reinjured his foot against the Buccaneers.

But video seems to indicate that it happened with 3:00 left in the first quarter, after scrambling to his right, before throwing the ball away near the sideline. When he came to a stop a few yards out of bounds without being touched, he stood and hopped up-and-down briefly on his toes and walked back to the huddle with a slight limp and a small grimace on his face.

He wasn’t right the rest of the game and hasn’t looked right the first two games.

Newton has been more famous throughout his career for his ability to run the ball, as opposed to throwing it. He has 58 career rushing touchdowns, which is an NFL record.

Through two games this season, Newton has five carries for minus-3 yards.

If Newton can’t play Sunday, Rivera said Kyle Allen will be the starter, with Charlotte native Will Grier serving as the backup.

“I think Kyle’s more than ready,” Rivera said. “I think Kyle did some really good things last year and showed us what he’s capable of.”

Grier was taken in the third round in this year’s draft but was inactive the first two games.