Carolina Panthers: Key takeaways from exciting Fan Fest

The Samuel-Newton connection was strong

Yes, I know it was only practice, and yes I know that Curtis Samuel was wide open, but the fact that he was catching passes from Cam Newton was a great sight to see. The fact that Newton was throwing passes at all, considering he had surgery in January, was quite the feat in itself. It gave fans a nice preview of what could happen during the course of the regular season. Now, we just have to make sure that Newton is healthy and ready to go for the start of the season.

The Newton-Samuel connection is undoubtedly something fans wanted to see. With both players in line to have big seasons, and a lot of pressure being put on both, the showing at Fan Fest, even though it was a small one, was still fun to watch. Furthermore, it put a reminder on the fact that the first preseason game is just four days away.

The big challenge for both Samuel and Newton is staying healthy. When healthy, they are two of the most dynamic players in the National Football League. For Samuel in particular, injuries have hampered any upward trajectory he could potentially experience over the course of the last couple seasons. He needs to do his best to show that he is still the same player the Panthers drafted out of Ohio State. There is no doubt the potential is there last year, he just needs to be able to put it all together this year.

As for Newton, if his shoulder keeps recovering at this pace, he could be in line to have a dynamite regular season.