There will be no quarterback controversy for the Carolina Panthers, at least not anytime soon. The looming return of former league MVP Cam Newton from a Lisfranc injury in his foot began to push the issue on if the team would immediately give him back his job as starter, or if backup Kyle Allen had done enough to establish himself as the "hot hand" that can't easily be benched.

Newton hasn't played since the team's Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Allen is 4-1 in his absence. The Panthers witnessed the worst game of Allen's season in a blowout loss to the undefeated San Francisco 49ers last week, but he's been mostly solid as starter. They'll need to depend on him for quite a bit longer, it seems, with Newton reportedly heading to Green Bay to visit Dr. Robert Anderson, a foot specialist who will assess his current status, per Josina Anderson of ESPN.

The more concerning problem is what's causing the visit because, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports, it's not simply a progress check -- because there's been no marked progress to check.

This explains why head coach Ron Rivera hasn't divulged much of anything regarding Newton, including speculating any potential timeline for return. The organization simply doesn't know when he'll be healthy enough to return to football, and with Week 9 now underway, it's becoming increasingly likely Newton might be done for the season. It bears mentioning most who suffer a LIsfranc injury undergo surgery to have it repaired -- much like defensive lineman Malik Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles did in early September, ending his season -- but Newton opted to pass on that option initially.

Depending upon what Dr. Anderson tells him this week, however, Newton may not have a choice in the matter.

In his stead, aside from the aforementioned record of 4-1, Allen has thrown for 1,059 passing yards along with seven touchdowns to three interceptions, with all three INTs having come in the loss to the Niners. He'll continue readying for the Tennessee Titans in Week 9 and likely most, if not all, of the remaining regular season games -- as Newton works to figure out if he can return to football in 2019.