Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was back throwing on Monday, his first participation in a full practice since suffering fractured ribs during an Aug. 22 exhibition game at New England.
Newton said last Wednesday he had no doubt he would start in Sunday's opener at Tampa Bay, and nothing he did early in practice would dispute that.
The first pick of the 2011 draft, who hasn't missed a start at Carolina, showed no limitation in his throwing motion. He ran between drills, something he didn't do all of last week, and had a full range of motion during stretching.
Newton was wearing a larger flak jacket than the one he was wearing when New England linebacker Jamie Collins stepped on the back of Carolina's franchise quarterback at the end of a 7-yard run to cause the fracture.
Newton is ranked 14th on our QB list heading into Week 1 in a good matchup against the Bucs. The big question will be how much Newton runs with his rib and ankle injuries, but so far it's a good sign he's showing full range of motion in terms of throwing. It's looking more and more like he's going to play Week 1 for those who need to start him.
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