Panthers' Cam Newton on splitting snaps: 'I trust in the coaches' plan'

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said last week that veteran quarterback Cam Newton and former XFL star P.J. Walker would both get snaps in what became last Sunday's 29-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and that's what occurred. Rhule presumably will play the two at different points of this Sunday's matchup versus the Buffalo Bills, and the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player spoke about that on Thursday. 

"You've just got to be a professional," Newton explained, according to Darin Gantt of the Panthers' website. "Don't allow it to be a distraction, no matter what it is.

"I do what I'm told. It sounds kind of, . . . but it's true. I'm a player, and I gain guidance from what the coaches' plan is. I trust in the coaches' plan, whether it's coming from up top or even coach (Jeff) Nixon. Those guys come up with the plan, and it's in our best interest as a team to follow it as players and execute it to the best of our ability."

Newton completed 15-of-23 passes for 178 yards with no touchdowns and an interception against Atlanta, and he also added 47 yards and a score on 10 carries. Walker, meanwhile, hit on six of 12 passes for 75 yards with one touchdown and one interception. 

"Certainly, I don't want to be playing two quarterbacks, no one does," Rhule commented Thursday. "But it's just the situation we're in, and we're trying to maximize where we're at right now."