No Cam Newton, but plenty of other notes from Carolina Panthers’ second week of OTAs
It might be in the nature of dramatic fans to panic when they hear about a franchise quarterback missing an organized team activity workout. But let’s be honest, that’s simply a waste of energy.
Especially where Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is concerned.
Newton was not present for the beginning of the team’s second week of OTAs on Tuesday; head coaches cited personal reasons. Newton coached a 7-on-7 tournament in Atlanta over the weekend — but everybody breathe.
Newton is not throwing yet as he continues to progress along his rehabilitation schedule following offseason shoulder surgery.
OTAs are also voluntary.
“It’s just one of those things,” said head coach Ron Rivera after practice. “It is voluntary. He was nice enough to let us know he wasn’t going to be able to make it, so we appreciate that.”
And, there was plenty of work for the healthy players to do on Tuesday morning.
Here’s what we saw:
▪ As the Panthers’ defense works to get more multiple, one notable difference in practice structure is that the hybrid defensive ends/linebackers at times work in their own group, separate from the other defensive linemen and linebackers.
This includes Mario Addison, Marquis Haynes, Bruce Irvin, Brian Burns, Christian Miller (though he worked on the side on Tuesday) and Antwione Williams.
These “defensive ends” could play as a 4-3 defensive end, or as an outside linebacker in a three-man front.
▪ Cornerback Donte Jackson stretched out for an acrobatic one-handed interception in the first hour of drills. Jackson, one of the Panthers’ most exciting rookies last season, is entering his second year in the NFL with confidence — though Rivera was quick to keep him grounded after the workout.
“His swagger is getting a little bit more,” Rivera said. “So we’ve got to try to keep that curbed until he gets past his fourth game. Then he’ll be a second-year player. He’s still a rookie.”
▪ Panthers tight ends Ian Thomas and Greg Olsen and receiver Torrey Smith did some work with team athletic trainers on the side. Linebackers Shaq Thompson and Miller also worked on the side at times.
▪ Linebacker Luke Kuechly had the first big play of the day, an interception on a ball thrown by backup quarterback Kyle Allen, that would have been returned for a touchdown in regular play. Kuechly picked off Allen again near the end of practice.
▪ Linebacker Andre Smith recovered a fumble for what would have been a touchdown in regular play.
▪ Receiver Curtis Samuel had the catch of the day after fully outstretching to reel in a deep ball from Allen, but he landed hard and was slow to get up. Rivera confirmed that Samuel just got the wind knocked out of him.
“You love seeing that, but at the same time you want to be careful,” Rivera said.
▪ Rivera took part in the “Crack Cancer Challenge”, which involved getting an egg smashed on one’s head for charity, after being called out by “Good Morning Football” co-host Peter Schrager.
Rivera sat in a chair while Olsen, Kuechly, Thompson, guard Trai Turner, defensive tackle Kawann Short and running back Christian McCaffrey each cracked an egg on his head (Olsen actually threw his, much to Rivera’s amusement). Rivera then called out Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur to participate in the challenge.
▪ Team owner David Tepper strolled out to the practice fields for the first half of the workout to admire the partially-constructed bubble adjacent to the team’s practice field. Workers have laid sod down over one football field-sized stretch, and have about 50 yards of turf (which the bubble will cover) in place.
Like a suburbia resident admiring his well-coiffed lawn, Tepper bounced up and down a few times on the artificial turf, then reached down to feel it before walking to the in-use field to join a group of players on sideline.
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 12:52 PM.
