For the second straight day, the Carolina Panthers practice gates closed with Cam Newton noticeably absent.
The Panthers' starting quarterback re-aggravated his left foot sprain in Thursday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, thrusting his status for Sunday's road game against Arizona into doubt. But after teammate Eric Reid said Newton was in a boot on Tuesday, it was no surprise that Newton missed practice Wednesday, as well.
Coach Ron Rivera said he didn't have much to offer on Newton's progress.
"No (updates) other than the fact that he didn't practice today, but is getting his treatment, getting all the information he can in terms of meetings and all that good stuff," Rivera said.
If Newton does end up missing Sunday's game, Rivera has already said that the team will start second-year quarterback Kyle Allen instead.
But Rivera said he isn't yet ready to make a determination on Newton's status for Sunday.
"I'm not ready to, but I do know Kyle had a good day," Rivera said. "(Kyle) has been in all the meetings, obviously, working hard, studying up and obviously taking the practice reps he needs to take."
Rivera also declined to say when his timetable is for making a decision one way or the other on Newton's availability.
On a conference call with reporters, Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said the Cardinals are preparing for both quarterbacks.
"Obviously, Cam brings a lot of dynamics with his athleticism. He's been a dominant force in this league for a long time and played through injuries and done some amazing things, so we have to prepare as if he's going to play," Kingsbury said. "Kyle is a guy I recruited in high school, watched his tape in high school. ... Last year when he played, he played his tail off. ...
"If they go with him, we know we're going to have to bring our best game to find a way to win."
The Panthers will release their final injury report on Friday, but the team doesn't have to officially declare Newton active or inactive until hours before Sunday's game.
