The San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of their first practice of the regular season, and meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers wrapped up their practice this morning. There are no surprises as far as I can tell, and the most notable news is that Cam Newton was a full participant.
Newton had shoulder surgery this offseason, and missed the first two preseason games as part of his recovery. He got back on the field the third week and got in a series of that game. He did not play in the preseason finale, so his first significant run of playing time will be this weekend against the 49ers.
The 49ers new-look defense faces a tough test in the Panthers, but one has to wonder how rusty Newton might be. He remains dangerous either way, but with some rust, it could make the 49ers job just a little bit easier. Of course, with Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel joining the Panthers this year, he’ll have more weapons to help him out. On Wednesday Kyle Shanahan was asked about if the addition of those two takes some work off Cam and if the coaching staff still has to be aware of him as a runner.
“Yes, definitely. That’s what Cam does best and that’s what makes him very tough to defend. I hear all that too, but it really doesn’t matter until you see what happens. They do have more weapons. There’s definitely different ways they can use all those guys, especially when you have guys like the two you mentioned. Are they running backs? Are they receivers? Well, depends on what the play is, so you’ve got to be able to account for all that and then you have a quarterback who can play like a running back and a quarterback. It definitely gives them a lot of versatility as far as the type of scheme that they can be in. That’s why you’ve got to be ready for everything, but you’ve also got to know you’re not going to be. There’s too many options they can do with those type of players. So, you better make sure you’re sound in what you do.”
Panthers injury report
DNP: CB Cole Luke (ankle), LB Jared Norris (groin)
Limited: DT Vernon Butler (knee), DT Kyle Love (ankle)
Full: DE Daeshon Hall (knee), QB Cam Newton (right shoulder), WR Curtis Samuel (ankle)