Carolina Panthers news: Cam Newton needs surgery on rotator cuff

After dealing with a shoulder issue late last season, Cam Newton is now finally going under the knife.

Over the final few weeks of the 2016 season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was consistently limited in practice with an injury to his throwing shoulder. The only game he missed all season was due to a concussion, but five interceptions over the final two games and a dramatic general drop-off from 2015 pointed to Newton possibly operating at less than full strength.

Until Tuesday, there had been no news regarding offseason surgery of any sort for Newton. But a release via the team’s website has changed that, and Newton is slated for surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder on March 30.

A late decision on surgery was explained by Panthers’ head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion.

"“We developed a plan for Cam to take a period of rest, a period of rehabilitation and treatment, and then start a gradual throwing program the first part of March,” Vermillion said. “Cam started his program, and the early parts of his rehab had been going well. However, as we worked to advance him into the next stage – the strengthening stage, the throwing stage – he started to have an increase in his pain level and started having pain while throwing."

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo got the surgery date wrong in an initial tweet, but there is a timetable for when Newton will start to throw again.

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A full 16-week timeframe puts Newton’s status for the start of training camp in doubt. He may also be eased into preseason action, if he even plays at all in exhibition games. But there is no doubt about Newton’s status for Week 1 right now, and keeping that on track is all that matters to the Panthers.