Panthers’ Newton not ready to soar just yet

Rin Toronto ight now, Superman’s passes can’t fly much faster than a speeding turtle. As a result, Cam Newton won’t play in the Carolina Panthers’ preseason opener on Wednesday night.

After undergoing off- season shoulder surgery, the NFL’s MVP in 2015 has been held out of team drills for the past week of Panthers training camp with shoulder soreness.

Newton did some light throwing on Monday and again Tuesday, but Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said Tuesday the 28-year-old won’t play against the visiting Houston Texans on Wednesday night.

According to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, no one within the Panthers organization seems all that concerned about Newton’s minor setback.

Maybe they should be. Carolina’s offensive coaches have recast their attack to include far fewer Newton runs and more diverse New- ton passes. So, yeah, it’d be kind of nice to have the guy throwing those passes at the helm for more than just the first few days of training camp so far this calendar year, what with the regular season a month away.

Remember, after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right throwing shoulder in March, Newton missed all spring practices.

He didn’t throw his first postsurgery football until the last week of June. So he’s barely got in any individual work, let alone team work in the new offence.

Newton told the club’s website in late June that he felt stiff and awkward when he started throwing again — something to be expected. Panthers fans will breathe a lot easier once Newton returns to practice, full-go.

Derek Anderson, Newton’s primary backup since his 2011 rookie season, has been taking top reps in training camp for the past week and will start against the Texans.

OSWEILER UPDATE: If you missed it, the Cleveland Browns on Monday named Brock Osweiler their starting quarterback against the visiting New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Cody Kessler — the secondyear QB thrust into the starting role early on as a rookie, after injuries to now ex- Browns Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown — had been taking the majority of first-string reps both in the spring and after a week and a half of training camp. Promising rookie DeShone Kizer had taken the remainder of first-team reps.

But head coach Hue Jackson Monday made the surprising announcement that Osweiler, the one- time Denver Bronco and epic failure last year as a Houston Texan, now sits atop the Browns’ depth chart.

At Monday afternoon’s practice Osweiler “looked good” as the newly designated No. 1, Jackson said.

“I think he has gained a lot of respect in the locker-room because of the way he prepares,” Jackson said. “He did a good job ( Monday). Obviously, it was his first opportunity with those guys, so we just need to keep fine-tuning some things.”

Jackson stressed that Osweiler hasn’t won the starting job for Week 1 of the regular season. Just for Week 1 of the pre-season.