Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton will start the final exhibition and, barring injury, is expected to start the first regular-season game, as well.

Newton, the No. 1 overall pick, will make his third consecutive start Thursday against Pittsburgh, first-year coach Ron Rivera said. And while Rivera stopped short of naming Newton the Week 1 starter, he gave every indication it would be Newton behind center Sept. 11 at Arizona.

"The big thing is to continue to see how he handles everything. We have to really study him and watch him. We have to make sure he's progressing in the right direction," Rivera said Saturday.

"This is a very sincere thing for us. We don't want to just say, 'Hey, you're the guy,' and walk away from it. At the same time, we want him to understand that he is working towards being our guy."

Newton has struggled with his accuracy, completing 40.4 percent of his passes compared to Jimmy Clausen's 58.6 completion rate. Newton's mechanics have caused him to miss receivers downfield - he has four completions to wideouts.

But Rivera said Newton's footwork in the pocket is improving. He likes Newton's big-play ability: While Clausen has two plays of 20 yards or more, Newton has five.

Clausen, who was 1-9 as a starter last year as a rookie, missed practice Saturday with a leg injury he suffered on a hit in the fourth quarter of the 24-13 loss to Cincinnati. Though Clausen is not expected to miss much time, Rivera was upset with the second-team offensive line for getting Clausen injured in a situation when it was obvious the Bengals would apply a heavy rush.

Derek Anderson took reps with the second-team offense Saturday.

No. 4 quarterback Tony Pike is out indefinitely following surgery to repair nerve damage in his throwing elbow. Rivera said the Panthers would be OK with three quarterbacks.

Long snapper signed The Panthers signed former St. Louis long snapper Chris Massey to compete with J.J. Jansen, who has handled the snapping duties the past two years. Massey, 32, was released last week.

He had one bad snap in 1,051 attempts, but was let go in an apparent salary dump, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Panthers also released four players - defensive tackles Tommie Duhart and Louis Ellis, punter Anthony Santella and receiver Trent Guy, a Charlotte native who signed with the Panthers last year.

The moves left the Panthers with 87 players. They have to get the roster to 80 by Tuesday.

Fullback options: Rivera said one of those roster spots would go to a fullback, although the position is not heavily involved in offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's offense. Starting fullback Tony Fiammetta is out since suffering a severe concussion against the Giants.

Richie Brockel, who was in camp with San Diego last year when Rivera was with the Chargers, has been getting the fullback reps while Fiammetta waits to be cleared.

Injury update: Right tackle Jeff Otah (knee) and defensive end Greg Hardy (foot) returned to practice and took first-team reps Saturday. Hardy, took more reps than coaches anticipated.

Tailback Mike Goodson (Achilles) and rookie offensive linemen Byron Bell (knee) and Lee Ziemba (concussion) also were back.

But several starters were out - linebacker Jon Beason (Achilles tendinitis), safety Sherrod Martin (groin) and offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz (hip). Beason was told he could miss several weeks following his surgery last week, although the team is hopeful he'll be ready for the opener.