NFL News: Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton Out for 4 Months
Cam Newton will go under the knife on Wednesday to address issues on his ankle which was a problem since the penultimate game of the 2013-2014 regular season.
Barring any setbacks with the surgery, the 24-year-old quarterback is expected to be out for at least four months—meaning he’ll probably miss the Carolina minicamps in May and June but should be back for the preseason games in August.
Newton, who is entering his fourth season, suffered the injured during the Panthers’ Week 16 game versus the New Orleans Saints. Newton played through the pain and injury in the final game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons as well as in the NFC divisional playoff game versus the San Francisco 49ers.
“The ankle was sore after the San Francisco game and we wanted to see if rest would calm it down, but it is still bothering him and the decision was made to address it,” Carolina head trainer Ryan Vermillion said in a statement.
Carolina went 12-4 in the regular season last season—the most successful run the franchise has been in since 2008 when they logged in the same win-loss record and also lost in the divisional round in the postseason.
Newton turned in career-high numbers in the 2013-2014 season. He had a total of 3,379 passing yards on career-highs 61.7 completion percentage, 585 rushing yards plus another personal-best of 24 touchdowns.
Despite the ankle injury, Newton had performed well in the 23-10 loss to the 49ers in his first playoff appearance with 267 passing yards (16/25 completion), 54 rushing yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions.