Cam Newton has turned down the chance to wear No. 2 with the Panthers. The former Auburn quarterback wore the number in college, but donned No. 1 in his rookie season because Jimmy Clausen already had No. 2. The availability of No. 2, according to Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, came from Clausen's unprompted desire to change his jersey to No. 7.

Plaxico Burress said again Thursday that he would like to sign with the Panthers, but according to a published report the pairing is highly unlikely to happen. An unnamed team official told the Charlotte Observer that the Panthers aren't interested in signing the former Jets, Giants and Steelers receiver.

Plaxico Burress said in an interview earlier this week that he wants to play for the Panthers in 2012. Burress has received calls from other NFC South teams, but the Panthers haven't called yet, the wide receiver told WFNZ in Charlotte. "My brother lives right there in Charlotte, my cousin lives there in Charlotte, and all my family is there in Columbia, South Carolina. It would just be a great situation all the way around and being close to everybody," he said. "Not just that, but playing with Cam, who I think is one of the top five quarterbacks in all of football, and as long as I can remember, Steve Smith has been one of my favorites. I just think it's a great situation."

Panthers rookie cornerback Josh Norman, a fifth-round pick, made a real go of non-contact minicamps and was very confident when speaking with the Carolina Observer. "I was like, 'Oh yeah, I'm loving it, I'm absolutely loving it,' Norman said of his first times lined up directly across from Steve Smith. "Going against the best brings the best out of you. You want to beat him. So obviously every nick, every turn, you want to stay right on him and see if you can match up with the best." And how did it go? "He'd get frustrated," Norman said. "He'd throw his hands in the air. He'd have a couple words ..." So ... the rookie beat the veteran? "Absolutely, man ... All the other guys are like, 'Ah, man, he's shifty.' Whatever! Let's go. I'm all for a challenge." Smith had a different view of the battle between the two. "For a young guy, he's coming out and he's playing well. But as far as how much swagger and he loves to compete, I look at it like all the other veterans — May and June you just kind of cruise a little bit just to get through," Smith said. "Once late July, August comes, he's going to learn very quickly this isn't Coastal Carolina. I look forward to camp. I hope he looks forward to camp, just like all the other DBs because the first week is never a good day for them when we've got this offense with Chud (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski). It's going to be early and often and real quick."

Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin will take the reigns of their respective teams immediately, but one NFL scout doesn't expect them to put up the gaudy stats that Cam Newton did in the same situation. "I expect Griffin to put up better numbers in 2012 but that doesn't mean that he will be the better player," Greg Gabriel writes. "Don't expect either player to have the kind of stats that Cam Newton had last year. I would expect numbers more similar to what Andy Dalton had in Cincinnati."

The Chargers wanted to re-sign fullback Mike Tolbert, but in reality they never had a chance. Tolbert took $1 million less to sign with the Panthers so that he could return to the South and raise his daughter there. "I just wanted to raise my daughter in the South," the native of Douglasville, Georgia said. "I just think this is a better place to raise a family." Tolbert signed a four-year, $10 million contract that included $4.2 million in guarantees with Carolina.

While Jimmy Clausen is playing behind Cam Newton on the quarterback depth chart for the Panthers, Ron Rivera believes he could develop into an NFL starter. "I think so," Rivera said. "I do. The kid’s got a good arm, he’s an accurate passer, he’s learned a lot, and I think if he continues to grow this season he’s going to get his opportunity."