When the New England Patriots released their first injury report of the week on Wednesday, one player stood out among the 12 listed: starting quarterback Cam Newton was a limited participant during the session because of an abdominal injury. His status did not change throughout the week, with the Patriots eventually tagging him as questionable heading into their road trip to Los Angeles to face the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams.
While that status officially means that there is only a 50-50 chance for Newton to eventually participate in the game versus the Chargers on Sunday, he is expected to be good to go. According to multiple reports, the 31-year-old took almost all of the first-team reps in practice this week despite his injury and should therefore have no obvious limitations when trying to lead the Patriots’ offense to its sixth victory of the season.
Newton, who has struggled with injuries the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, has been pretty healthy since arriving in New England — the main exception being his positive Coronavirus diagnosis ahead of the team’s Week 4 game versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Newton missed that game, but has been ready for the other 10 of the Patriots’ contests in his first year with the club.
As always, New England will release its inactives 90 minutes before kickoff. By then, Newton’s “good-to-go” status will be officially confirmed — as will be the fate of the other 11 players listed on the practice report.
On the offensive side of the ball, running back J.J. Taylor (quadricep), fullback Jakob Johnson (knee), wide receiver Matthew Slater (knee), tight end Ryan Izzo (hamstring/hand), and guard Shaq Mason (calf) are listed as questionable. On defense, defensive tackles Adam Butler (shoulder) and DT Byron Cowart (back), linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (groin), and defensive backs J.C. Jackson (hip) and Kyle Dugger (toe) share this distinction. Kicker Nick Folk (back) is also questionable.