Cam Newton a surprise performer in Panthers practice

Well, well, look who made an appearance at football practice on Wednesday.

A mere eight days after he was in a frightening-looking car accident, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton participated in practice in advance of Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns, according to Black and Blue Review's Bill Voth.

(Here's the video of some of what Newton did today above.)

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Is it possible that Newton could play Sunday?

Pump the breaks there — part of this is the Panthers seeing where Newton is with his transverse process injury he suffered in the crash.

But it has to be tremendously encouraging that Newton is even in a place where he can go through basic practice movements, which would give the Panthers a sure lift as they remain in the thick of the NFC North race.

Derek Anderson is 2-0 in his two replacements starts for Newton, although we feel compelled to add a tony asterisk to his mark considering both games were against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, Anderson has completed an impressive 65-of-97 passes this season for 701 yards, with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 in a game that could help to decide the South division. Atlanta, by the way, is Newton's hometown, so it will be fascinating to see if he can return for that game if he doesn't play this weekend against the Browns.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm

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