Panthers’ Head Coach Ron Rivera has confirmed that QB Cam Newton will start tomorrow night’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Spoke w/ coach Ron Rivera. Told me the plan is to start Cam against JAX. "We'll see how the flow of the game goes and how long he'll play." — Tiffany Blackmon (@tiffblackmon) August 23, 2017

Warning: hot takes and editorial liberties exercised ahead:

Newton is a 7 year veteran. He has played in well over 100 NFL games (preseason, regular season and post season) since August 2011. Given that, could Cam simply practice for the next two and a half weeks and be ready to go for the regular season opener? Does he need preseason reps in order to “shake the rust off?”

If he was a rookie, then perhaps some concern about a lack of preseason reps would be warranted. Even then, when Cam was a rookie in 2011, the lockout was in full bore and he missed OTAs and a significant portion of training camp. He went on to throw for over 800 yards and 7TDs in his first two NFL games, after not being named the starter until the 3rd preseason game (meaning he had been working with a smattering of the first, second and even third team offense during his abbreviated training camp).

You hear talk about an “evolution” of the 2017 Panthers’ offense. In reality, Cam’s offense has changed very little. He has new OTs (thank goodness), but aside from that welcomed change, most of his skill players (the players a QB develops his precious “timing” with) have not changed. You have Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess at WR1 and WR2, respectively. Both are returning to the only NFL offense they’ve ever known. TE1 Greg Olsen and Cam Newton know what the other is going to do before they do it, and RB1 Jonathan Stewart is in his 10th season (his seventh with Cam).

The only new additions to the stable of skill players are a 3rd and 4th WR (whom the Panthers historically under-utilize, relatively speaking) and a very promising RB1a in Christian McCaffrey. As long as Cam and McCaffrey develop the necessary chemistry when it comes to the traditional QB to RB hand-off and the read-option (yuck) mesh-point, they should be fine. And, that is typically something a QB and RB can do outside of a “live-fire” situation.

So, if you couldn’t tell already, the author’s opinion is that Cam doesn’t need to play in the preseason. Now, since he is healthy (he wouldn’t be practicing fully if he wasn’t healthy enough to play), him playing in the preseason is fine. It is, in fact, expected. Hell, it’s a good thing. But, let us not pretend that the Panthers’ 2017 season would be doomed had he not been able to participate in any of the preseason games.

TL;DR:

Concerns about Cam Newton needing preseason reps, “needing to change” ~ESPN, needing to “find his timing,” or needing to develop chemistry with his receivers are overblown. Cam playing in the preseason is not necessary. But, since he’s ready, he should play — like anyone else on the roster.