Wednesday was a different sort of practice for the Panthers.
With an extra day to prepare for Monday night’s game against Tampa Bay, a number of starters were given the day off and practice ended about an hour earlier than usual.
But the most peculiar part of it was the absence of starting quarterback and reigning league MVP Cam Newton.
Newton has missed only a handful of practices during his six-year career. He stayed for most of a Christmas Eve practice last season before bolting for the birth of his son, Chosen.
But Newton was not on the practice fields Wednesday, three days after he was placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol.