Ron Rivera shares encouraging details about Cam Newton’s recovery

Cam Newton is already feeling improvements in his arm.

As many of you have heard by now, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery last Thursday to prepare for the 2019 season. That is not news that any of us like to hear, but it should be viewed as an opportunity to get ready for the 2019 season. If all goes according to plan, Newton will be back and better than ever ready to lead the Panthers to the playoffs.

So far, things sound like they are progressing well. Ron Rivera talked to the Charlotte Observer on Thursday and gave everyone an update on his quarterback’s recovery. Let me just say that it does not sound like he will be taking part in a game anytime soon. However, Rivera’s words were encouraging.

At this stage of his recovery, I personally would not expect Newton to do anything major at this point. As I alluded to in my piece last Thursday about Cam Newton’s surgery, the team should play things carefully as they look to get their quarterback back into the routine of football.

"“I was there on one of his recovery days when (Newton) was working out with (head athletic trainer) Ryan Vermillion,” Rivera said. ”And one of the things he did say was that he has gotten a lot of range of motion back. So that was exciting to hear.”"

Watching the games, you could definitely tell that something was wrong with the Newton’s arm in the second half of the season. Particularly in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he took many hits that made me cringe just watching. All things considered, he battled it out and did pretty well. However, the results just were not there for the Panthers as a team. Rivera said that in the Week 13 contest against to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton’s hurt shoulder was very noticeable and that was the first time the coach thought something may have been wrong with his star quarterback.

"“Everything came up just a touch short (on his throws). After that game, I really worried about him,” Rivera said. “But I’d come see him and talk to him the next day, and from the depths of despair he’d come back up and was so positive. And that’s him, that’s his personality.”"

There is no doubt that Cam Newton was a warrior and a fighter. However, one has to wonder if his arm was the reason that the Panthers may have lost some games in 2018. Turning the page, it is a great sign that his recovery seems to be going so well so far. Although he is not finished with his recovery by any stretch of the imagination, getting that range of motion back is always a good thing. The fact that Newton feels confident that he is getting the range of motion back is even better. When a player’s confidence is shot like Newton’s was towards the end of the year,  it takes a lot for them to get that confidence back.

I’ll be interested to hear more about what the Panthers will be doing to assist Newton with his rehabilitation. They need to do everything they can to make sure he is ready to go come 2019. He is perhaps the biggest player involved with the Panthers franchise. Now, they need to treat him like it.