Cam Newton had shoulder surgery on Thursday, but the Carolina Panthers are reportedly hopeful he’ll be healthy enough to be throwing when OTAs open up.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media spoke about Newton’s surgery on Friday morning on NFL Network. He said the initial thought is that “this is a somewhat minor shoulder surgery” and that the hope is he’ll be throwing again by OTAs.
“At the very least, you know he’s going to be ready for training camp,” Rapoport said.
OTAs begin in May, and Newton’s surgery was merely arthroscopic. It stands to reason he’ll be ready to get back to normal football activities by then barring any setbacks.
However, as Panthers owner David Tepper recently made clear, the team absolutely needs to come up with a better backup plan behind Newton, regardless. And it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to significantly bolster the offensive line so Newton is getting the protection he needs going forward.