Cam Newton Out vs. Texans with Foot Injury; Kyle Allen to Start for Panthers

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton will miss his second straight start next week with a foot injury.

"What Cam needs right now is time and rest for his foot. We want him at 100 percent when he's ready, so there's no exact timetable for his return," head coach Ron Rivera said in a statement. "At this point, we're going to go forward with Kyle (Allen) as our starter." 

Allen will start at the Houston Texans. He threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“I think he’s real confident in who he is as a football player,” Rivera said after the game. “He was a very heralded player coming into college, he had a good college career, and I think he’s just confident that he has that kind of ability.

“He’s got a lot of swag, which is kind of interesting when you watch him, and he’s been able to back it up. That’s probably the biggest thing because he did it in high school, did it in college and the two times he’s played for us he’s played pretty well.”

Newton injured his foot during the preseason but played in the first two games, struggling in a pair of Panthers losses. He threw for 572 yards without a touchdown and one interception while attempting only five carries. The 2015 NFL MVP was hampered last season by a shoulder injury that allowed Allen his first NFL start in Week 17.

Allen, once one of the most heralded prep quarterbacks in the nation before a disappointing college career, has looked stellar in each of his two NFL starts. He's showed a poise in the pocket and confidence throwing the football down the field. The Panthers offense looked far more fluid with him under center against Arizona than at any point with Newton the first two weeks.

Of course, the Cardinals are not exactly a defensive juggernaut. Allen's capabilities as an NFL starter will face a far greater test next week against a solid Texans front seven.