Cam Newton will not play against Buccaneers

Cam Newton will not play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today. The Carolina Panthers' quarterback suffered a rib injury in week three of the preseason and has been struggling to come back. He did practice fully on Friday, but Ron Rivera and company were concerned that he'd aggravate his injury. Apparently they're giving him another week of rest.

With Newton out, Derek Anderson will get the start for the Panthers with Joe Webb as the backup. Derek Anderson was disastrously bad in his one start against a Lovie Smith in 2009 when he completed 6/17 passes for 76 yards and two interceptions. The Bucs hope he'll repeat that performance, no doubt.

For the Buccaneers, the inactives are T Kevin Pamphile, G Rishaw Johnson, G Kadeem Edwards, DE Da'Quan Bowers, DE William Gholston, CB Rashaan Melvin and S Bradley McDougald. The only surprises tehre are the three offensive linemen, who may be inexperienced but appeared to be more talented than some of the linemen the Bucs are keeping active. It looks like Patrick Omameh will keep his starting spot at right guard.

For the Panthers, the other inactives are WR Brenton Bersin, S Tre Boston, T David Foucault, G Andrew Norwell, TE Brandon Williams, and DE Kony Ealy.