Jimmy Clausen practices to likely start
Although nothing is set in stone, Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen showed some positive signs in practice this week, and may potentially start for his squad when they take on the Cleveland Browns this weekend.
Clausen sustained a concussion during last week’s 37-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. And although he has rejoined his teammates out on the turf, he still has to undergo a series of tests to ensure that he will be ready for Sunday’s game in Cleveland.
“I’m still going through evaluations,” the rookie play-caller said Wednesday, according to
The Associated Press. “I felt pretty good but there are still things that we need to do here for me to get cleared before I can play.”
Clausen will undoubtedly have a lot of work ahead of him upon his return, as the Panthers (1-9) have both the league’s worst team, as well as the NFL’s least productive offence.
When inquired about Clausen’s status, head coach John Fox let reporters know that it was a strong possibility that the QB would be in the line-up if he’s healthy, with, “I thought he had a good practice.”
The Panthers have been searching for answers all season, and even enlisted Brian St. Pierre to handle to play-calling duties in Clausen’s absence.
That experiment hasn’t worked out so well, seeing as how St. Pierre had been a stay-at-home dad less than two weeks before suiting up against the Ravens. And, although you can’t fault St. Pierre for Carolina’s struggles, the team appears to be happy to have
its starter back at practice.
“The nice thing about Jimmy is he’s been here all year and he understands the cadence and the audibles and the reads and everything a little bit better than Brian did,” left tackle Jordan Gross told the media.
“I thought Brian did an outstanding job coming in from the street, as they say, and starting 10 days later against the Ravens. That’s as tough as it gets and he did a really nice job with that role.”
“But, yeah, I would assume it would be Jimmy [starting] as long as everything works out fine,” Gross concluded.
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