Cam Newton shows arm strength during Panthers' first camp practice

Tom Gatto

Cam Newton shows arm strength during Panthers' first camp practice image

The Panthers' first practice of training camp featured the first live test of Cam Newton's surgically repaired throwing shoulder. Looks as though Newton aced it.

Carolina's QB1 smoothly delivered a long ball to wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who was running free in the secondary, on Thursday. The completion, practice or not, had to look really good to a team and fan base that watched Newton struggle to throw deep during the Panthers' second-half collapse last season. The Charlotte Observer's Brendan Marks estimated the ball traveled 35 to 40 yards in the air.

Judge for yourself:

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Suffice it to say that the Panthers' coaches were thrilled to see that throw and another, tougher deep ball later in practice.

Carolina's offense sputtered during a seven-game losing streak from Weeks 10 through 16 in 2018. Newton played in the first six games of the streak, and while his yards per attempt (7.2) were the same as his first-half average, he was forced to mostly throw short because of the shoulder ailment.

Newton underwent a postseason procedure in January and was throwing by minicamp in June. He was on a "pitch count" Thursday with a limited number of throws, the Observer reported.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.