CHARLOTTE http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-greg-little-jersey , N.C. (AP) —after surgery on his throwing shoulder.Panthers coach Ron Rivera isn’t worried.Rivera downplayed Newton sitting out of passing drills at organized team activities (OTAs) on Wednesday, saying it’s a “really big not-that-big-of-a-deal.” Rivera said there’s still no timetable for when Newton will begin throwing again, but remains optimistic the 30-year-old QB will be ready to practice when the team opens training camp in late July.“What (the medical staff) is doing is taking it day-by-day and week-by-week and evaluating,” Rivera said. “They will just continue to go through the process, but there is no timeframe.”The Panthers say Newton underwent an “arthroscopic procedure” Jan. 24 after struggling to throw the football more than 20 yards downfield last season because of shoulder discomfort and lack of arm strength.The 2015 league MVP watched organized team activities (OTAs) Wednesday wearing a blue hoodie with a red No. 1 practice jersey over the top, but didn’t throwing any balls.Rivera said he’s seen progress with Newton off the field.“I’m very optimistic and I think he’s done a great job” with rehabilitation, Rivera said. “We will just continue to go forward with it until we are told what he can and can’t do.”Newton was not made available for comment after practice, but told The Associated Press on May 10 that his throwing shoulder is “getting there.”This isn’t the first time Newton has missed offseason practice time while recovering from shoulder surgery.He had surgery in March of 2017 on the same shoulder and missed all of OTAs and most of training camp recovering from surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. The Panthers still wound up making the playoffs that season.With Newton out, rookie third-round draft pick Will Grier from West Virginia and last year’s backups Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen took the reps under center.“I think the biggest plus for us that we have three guys that we thinking can help us at quarterback and we are giving them every opportunity Will Grier Jersey ,” Rivera said. “We are rolling guys through and each guy is playing with a different group every day, so I think that will help the guys around them and for those guys to assimilate to their teammates.”Rivera is particularly excited to see what a healthy Newton will do under center in his second season working under offensive coordinator Norv Turner.“The first year definitely was a learning experience and unfortunately the arm weakness came up,” Rivera said. “… I am anticipating a nice big step for everybody in the system.”NOTES: Professional golfer Harold Varner III took in practice from the sideline as a guest of Rivera. The Panthers coach has befriended Varner, who grew up in nearby Gastonia, North Carolina. Varner received a text message from Rivera after shooting a disastrous 81 in the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday, which knocked him out of contention. Rivera told Varner to “keep his head up” and if he keeps working “good things will happen.” Varner said Wednesday, “We keep in touch and talk about life, football, everything.” JACKSONVILLE http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-christian-miller-jersey , Fla. (AP) — Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue plans to skip Jacksonville’s mandatory three-day minicamp that begins Tuesday in hopes of getting a new contract.Ngakoue’s agent, Roc Nation Sports, released a statement on behalf of the 2017 Pro Bowl selection a day before camp.“I will not be attending minicamp as my contract has not been resolved,” Ngakoue said. “I remain committed to Jacksonville, the fans and my teammates. My hope is to be with Jacksonville for years to come.”The announcement ended weeks of speculation surrounding Ngakoue, who showed up for the start of voluntary organized team activities last month , vowed to attend the remaining dozen practices, and emphatically said he plans to play this season even if he doesn’t get a long-term contract. He bailed on teammates and coaches three days later. He also skipped most of Jacksonville’s voluntary offseason conditioning program to work out in Miami.The former Maryland standout, a third-round draft pick in 2016 Jordan Scarlett Jersey , is entering the fourth and final year of a $3.84 million rookie deal. He’s due to make $2.025 million this fall — far less than other top playmakers at his position.Two teammates went to bat for Ngakoue shortly after his statement dropped. Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey posted two pictures of his defensive teammate on his Instagram story, adding the words “ready to see my brudda get what he had earned!! Pay him!!” to the first. And running back Leonard Fournette tweeted “Pay @YannickNgakoue.”The Jaguars have said they want to re-sign the 24-year-old Ngakoue, but there’s no guarantee it will happen.Although it’s clear Ngakoue has outperformed his current deal, he’s also an undersized defensive end who could be stouter against the run. Plus, the Jaguars landed his potential replacement in April when they selected Kentucky standout Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in the draft.Allen bruised his right knee during the team’s first OTA and hasn’t practiced since. Ngakoue left Jacksonville shortly after coach Doug Marrone announced Allen’s injury and said the team would be cautious with his return.Jacksonville has roughly $13 million in salary cap space for 2019 and probably would need to be creative to pay Ngakoue now. The team would gain nearly $10 million more if linebacker Telvin Smith, who intends to sit out this season , fails to show up for training camp.Ngakoue has 29 ½ sacks and 10 forced fumbles in three NFL seasons. He finished with 9 ½ sacks last year, but had no strip sacks for the first time in his NFL career.