As the battle for the backup quarterback spot behind Cam Newton continues, the Carolina Panthers were able to see Newton on the field facing an opposing team for the first time since their Monday Night showdown last year against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 17.
While there was no full tackling involved, the Buffalo Bills traveled to Spartanburg for the first of two joint practices with the Panthers, ahead of the two teams’ preseason game Friday.
"Watching the offense, I thought we handled some things pretty good," Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said. "The big thing is your practicing with someone different and you don't have a feel for them and haven't scouted them so you're going to make some mistakes, which is good. We'll go back and correct them."
Carolina got a glimpse of quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Will Grier against the Chicago Bears last week in the first preseason game and was able to continue evaluating the two on Tuesday against the Bills defense.
Here is a quick look at how each quarterback handled practice against Buffalo:
CAM NEWTON
Newton fully participated in practice and had quite the up-and-down day.
Newton wasn't seen throwing in 1-on-1s, but began 7-on-7 drills by connecting with receiver Curtis Samuel for a wide-open 50-yard touchdown.
Samuel broke loose from the Bills secondary and upset Buffalo fans with a shoulder shrug after the score.
Newton continued to connect with Samuel, running back Christian McCaffrey and Olsen in 7-on-7 drills
During the first series of goal-line drills, Newton started 0-for-4, which included a near pick from Buffalo’s Tre'Davious White and an overthrown ball to tight end Greg Olsen.
Newton's only touchdown was a pass to Samuel that may have been knocked out if tackling were allowed.
In total, Newton finished the drills completing one pass on six attempts.
"It's a drill. We're working on a rhythm. There is no rush. It's about the process," Rivera said.
In two-minute drills, Newton completed 11 straight passes, before throwing an interception in the red zone to Levi Wallace.
Newton followed the interception with a touchdown to Olsen.
KYLE ALLEN
Allen worked with the second team again and his day included an impressive red zone touchdown pass to tight end Chris Manhertz.
Manhertz dove for the touchdown and got quite the applause from his hometown Buffalo fans.
Allen connected with receiver Torrey Smith a handful of times in 7-on-7 drills that included an impressive deep ball that would have been a touchdown in a game situation.
But Allen threw an interception following his touchdown to Manhertz.
"When you line up with people you don't know, they really test you," Rivera said. "It's just an opportunity to test yourself a little bit. There is no game-planning. It's just going out and doing your thing."
WILL GRIER
Grier had some solid passes to receiver Terry Godwin in 7-on-7 drills but struggled in red-zone drills.
Grier's most impressive plays were two completions to Olsen in tight coverage during 1-on-1 situations.
OTHER PRACTICE NOTABLES
Rookie defensive end Brian Burns left practice with an ankle injury. Rivera had no update.
Cornerback James Bradberry had the defensive play of the day by breaking up a would-be touchdown pass from Bills quarterback Josh Allen to receiver John Brown.
McCaffrey looked fast against the Buffalo defense. There were a few plays where he broke loose for big yardage.
There was only one visible scuffle between the two teams. Towards the end of practice, it looked like Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander got chippy with a few Panthers offensive lineman. It was quickly broken up.