The Carolina Panthers will not rush Cam Newton back into action. Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Monday that Kyle Allen will start in Week 8.
Newton remains out of commission with a Lisfranc injury that he shared a few weeks back could take up to six weeks to heal up.
This is a critical matchup for both the San Francisco 49ers and Panthers, who are both playoff contending teams in the NFC.
For what it’s worth, it remains to be seen if Newton even would be the starter if he were healthy enough to play. The Panthers lost both games he started this season, and since Allen has taken over the offense they’re undefeated.
However, this next week provides a whole new challenge. The 49ers feature one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses — a unit that gets after the quarterback, creates turnovers and that has allowed a grand total of 10 points in its last three games combined.