The Carolina Panthers are hoping that quarterback Cam Newton can play in their third NFL preseason betting game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Newton sat out the first two exhibition games after he experienced soreness in his throwing shoulder – on which he had surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff in late March – the most recent of which was a 27-34 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, August 19th.
- Date: Thursday, 24th August 2017
- Time: 7:05 PM
- Venue: EverBank Field
Sportsbook NFL Preseason Odds:
Panthers PK (-105) 43½ (-108)
Jaguars PK (-115) 43½ (-112)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
The 2015 Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year was one of three starters that sat out Saturday’s game along with middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and center Ryan Kalil. The latter is coming off a season-ending shoulder surgery but according to head coach Ron Rivera has not had any setbacks and was sidelined out of an abundance of caution, as was the latter, who had sore ribs. “I just banged them,” Kalil said, presumably referring to his ribs and not to female Panthers fans. “There’s nothing wrong with them. They decided to give me a little breather,” he said. “It’s not that a big deal. If we were playing tomorrow, I’d be good to go.” Rivera said there were plans for Newton to increase his throwing during the week in hopes of playing him against the Jags. “He had a real good week this week, really pleased with it,” the coach said. “He’s on target. We’re happy with it. His workouts really have been good.” Rivera added that the QB’s status for Saturday will depend on how he feels, but that “Everything’s been trending up. Everything’s been positive.” And now for something completely different, here’s rookie Christian McCaffrey describing his first NFL score:
Blake Bortles while Chad chortles
The Jags were never going to be a NFL preseason betting force to be reckoned with Blake Bortles playing in, as 360°FantasyFootball bitingly put, “mid-season form.”
Blake Bortles is already in mid-season form. pic.twitter.com/JWWYRUBYtM
— 360°FantasyFootball (@360FFB) August 18, 2017
Not that Chad Henne winning the starting job from Bortles – and now that head coach Doug Marrone has opened the competition for the starting QB spot, there’s a pretty good chance that he will – would really change the Jaguars’ outlook. The last time Henne manned the passing game in Jacksonville was four years ago, when the Jags went 4-12 after he took over from Blaine Gabbert and started 13 games. The advent of Bortles in 2014 rendered Henne’s tenure as short-lived as a henna tattoo. Henne started three that season, neither started nor played a single game in 2015, and plated one game last season. And yet here we are. Nonetheless, the Jaguars players are also of the opinion that a quarterback change wouldn’t make much difference. “At the end of the day I’ve got a job to do, and that’s each and every day I step out on that field in practice or whatever, I’ve got a job to get done,” wide receiver Allen Robinson (last seen and heard cussing Bortles out) said per ESPN. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to get reps with Blake. Same thing [with Henne]. We’re going to try to make plays for him. He’s our teammate, so it doesn’t change the mentality of people at all.” It doesn’t change the mentality of NFL preseason betting oddsmakers either.