Uneven Start for Carolina Rookie QB Cam Newton

Aug 14, 2011

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton led a pair of field-goal drives in his NFL debut, and Jimmy Clausen threw a touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to help Carolina beat the New York Giants.

Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn and top overall pick in the NFL draft, struggled with his accuracy and twice failed to get the Panthers into the end zone on promising first-half drives.

Newton completed 8 of 19 throws for 134 yards, including a pair of completions of at least 30 yards. He entered the game to loud cheers on Carolina’s first drive of the second quarter and left early in the fourth.

It was a forgettable night for New York’s offense, which never reached the end zone. Lawrence Tynes missed two field goals and had another blocked in the fourth.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning didn’t lead a scoring drive in his five series, completing 4 of 9 passes for just 36 yards. He also slightly overthrew Hakeem Nicks on what could’ve been a big third-down gain on his first possession, forcing Tynes to try a 56-yard field goal.

Fantasy Impact:

Nothing too surprising in this one. Carolina has to be happy that new acquisition Olsen found the end zone. Olsen will have a hard time being a TE1 in Carolina, but he's worthy of a roster spot if you have the space to carry two tight ends.

yesterday

Broncos waive TE Greg Dulcich

Pro Football Talk

yesterday · 6:46 PM EST

The NFL’s transaction report for Monday shows that the Broncos have waived Greg Dulcich off the 53-man roster.

Fantasy Impact:

Dulcich was a 2022 third-round pick and he caught 33 passes for 411 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games during his rookie season, the story pointed out. Those numbers made him a hot prospect for a while, however, hamstring injuries have caused him to fall off the fantasy radar. He's been inactive for the team's last eight games, the story added.

49ers QB Brock Purdy does light throwing with no issues

Pro Football Talk

yesterday · 5:18 PM EST

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did some light throwing without issue Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan said.

Purdy, who missed Sunday’s game with right shoulder soreness, will rest Tuesday.

“We’ll see how it feels on Wednesday,” Shanahan said, via KNBR. “Hopefully, it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest.”

Fantasy Impact:

Purdy appeared to injure the shoulder when his hand hit the arm of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he released a pass early in the fourth quarter in Week 11, the story said. The story added the 49ers, though, don’t know specifically when Purdy injured it as he not miss time in that game with the injury.
An MRI showed no damage but after experiencing soreness Purdy got a second MRI last week. The Niners will need Purdy in Week 13 when they travel to the Bills in a Sunday night game. Those counting on Purdy may need to have a backup plan in place this week.

QB Daniel Jones clears waivers and is a free agent

Pro Football Talk

yesterday · 4:33 PM EST

Quarterback Daniel Jones cleared waivers as expected Monday, making him a free agent.

Jones now is free to sign with any team.

Fantasy Impact:

The story said a team claiming him off waivers would have had to pay Jones $11.83 million for the rest of the year and assume $23 million in injury guarantees. The Giants now are responsible for the $11.83 million. The story also added, 10 teams reportedly already have reached out to Jones. The story suggested Jones' best move would be to sign to a contender’s practice squad because it would allow Jones to sign to the active roster of a different team if a starter gets injured. The Ravens, Vikings and Raiders have been rumored to be interested in Jones.