Newton needs time away from football
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said he plans on taking “time away from the game” because of a midfoot sprain that has bothered him since the third preseason game.
Newton says in a 15-minute video blog released Friday night that he probably shouldn’t have tried to play through the injury and needs to give himself time to heal.
“It could very well be a week. Or two weeks. It could be three weeks, it could be four weeks, it could be six weeks,” Newton said in the video in which he was smoking a cigar and drinking a glass of wine. “But I have to understand and know if it takes that time I trust in this team that they will, we will, still be in a great situation by the time I get back.”
Kyle Allen has replaced Newton in the starting lineup and led Carolina to a 38-20 win over Arizona last Sunday. Allen will start against the Texans on Sunday.
Newton says when he was warming up for the Sept. 8 season opener against the Rams his foot did not feel right.
But he decided to play anyway.
“I was hiding an injury where I could have easily said, ‘You know what coach, I don’t think I’m ready. Maybe I need to kind of consider sitting this one out for the betterment” of the team, Newton said. “... Automatically, I thought, ‘I’ve got to play Week 1. I can’t let my fans down. I’ve got to be there for my team.’”
Newton is the NFL’S third-leading career rusher among quarterbacks, but has run the ball just five times for minus-2 yards in his first two starts.
With the Panthers facing a crucial fourth-and-1 at the Tampa Bay 2 in Week 2, coordinator Norv Turner called a play for Christian Mccaffrey instead of Newton. Mccaffrey was stopped short of the first down and immediately questions about Newton’s foot arose.
After the game coach Ron Rivera told reporters “don’t worry about the foot.”
However, Newton hasn’t practice since that 20-14 loss to the Bucs.
Seahawks supportive of RB Carson
Despite having lost a fumble in each of the first three games, running back Chris Carson has the support of the Seattle Seahawks.
Coach Pete Carroll’s “it’s all about the ball” philosophy runs counter to a running back being unable to hold onto it. However, the Seahawks firmly believe this is just an unfortunate blip on the radar.
“You’re going to see absolute support for our guy,” Carroll said. “He’s a great football player. We love him.”
Carson’s fumble against Cincinnati in Week 1 didn’t come back to haunt Seattle as the Bengals would fumble on their ensuing possession as well. However, T.J. Watt punched the ball free of Carson’s grasp in Pittsburgh to set up a James Conner 1-yard touchdown run. Saints cornerback Eli Apple punched the ball free of Carson’s grasp at the end of a 22-yard gain and Vonn Bell scooped up the loose ball for a 33-yard touchdown last Sunday.
“You got to move on from it. It happens. You got to move on, keep going,” Carson said.
League, officials reach contract agreement
The NFL has agreed with game officials on a sevenyear labor contract that will run through the 2025 season. The deal announced Saturday came with the current contract set to expire in May. The new deal lasts through May 2026.