Panthers.com

The Panthers trimmed its roster down to 80 players today by cutting ties with second year quarterback Tony Pike, offensive guard Duke Robinson and placing offensive tackle Geoff Schwartz, wide receiver David Gettis, tight end Gary Barnidge and offensive lineman Zach Williams on the injured reserve list.

The Pike move was a bit unexpected. I would have thought that the Panthers would have liked to keep him with the team by placing him on the injured reserve list after Pike had elbow surgery earlier in the week.

Duke Robinson being cut was expected. The Panthers made him their fifth round selection in the 2009 draft and Robinson has failed to ever live up to expectations. he struggled with injuries and keeping his weight down which really effected his play. He had numerous opportunities to become a starter at right guard for the Panthers but never showed any promise.

The biggest news today though is the Schwartz injury. Originally Schwartz hurt his hip when the Panthers had their Fan Fest on August 6th and it seems like the hip injury is a lot worse than expected. They tried various treatments for his hip but nothing seemed to work, leaving the Panthers with no other option. Schwartz was originally slated as the starting right guard along side Jeff Otah, but with him out for the season Mackenzie Bernadeau or Gary Williams will most likely take over the spot.

Another option would be for the Panthers to look to free agency. When rosters are trimmed down to the final 53, there will most likely be a couple decent options available for the Panthers to pick from if they choose to go that route.

BleacherReport.com

Okay so Cam Newton has exactly made the huge splash some people thought he might make after being the number one pick in the 20011 NFL Draft.

In three games so far he has played about five quarters of football, completed 21 of 52 passes, just a 40.4% completion rate, for 275 yards, zero touchdowns and ran the ball for 67 yards and one touchdown.

Not exactly numbers that blow you away and definitely not the numbers you expect out of a starting quarterback in the NFL but nevertheless I expect head coach Ron Rivera to name Newton the starting quarterback for the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals sometime this week.

And it is the right move. (more…)

ESPN

Derek Anderson must have impressed the Panthers brass today when the two sides met and Anderson as it has been announced the two sides are close on a deal and that it should be done by the end of the day.

It seems as though part of Anderson’s role will be so serve as a mentor to Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen but according to Pat Yasinskas it seems as though he has a chance to come in and compete for the starting job.

Rivera said he and Hurney made it clear to Anderson what his role would be. Part of it would be to serve as a mentor to Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen. But Rivera also emphasized that Anderson wouldn’t be coming in already settled on a backup role.

Rivera said he told Anderson all he wants him to do is come in and compete. Rivera admitted offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski was instrumental in recruiting Anderson. The two were together in Cleveland in 2007, when Anderson had the best season of his career.

It might be even more necessary than before as Tony Pike missed Monday mornings practice with an undisclosed injury that could sideline him for a while.

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