All Cam Newton needed was two passes.
In his first game action since undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, the Carolina Panthers quarterback went 2-for-2 and found Kelvin Benjamin for a 9-yard touchdown on the opening drive of Thursday's preseason affair against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn't play another snap.
"I'm ready to go," Newton said after the game, according to David Newton of ESPN.
The 2015 NFL MVP admitted he'd hoped for more playing time. He's thrown sparingly throughout team practices and training camp.
"It was just for caution," Newton said when asked to compare his arm strength now to how it felt before he was shut down in training camp. "It's not no percentage I can really give you. I feel great right now. I felt great then.
"I just wish I had played a little longer. I feel behind in a lot of ways, but the optimism of this game is we did have a great first drive."
The Panthers will close the preseason next Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It'll be more than two weeks before Newton is on the field again, when Carolina opens the regular season on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.
