Ron Rivera Comments on Cam Newton Riding Scooter While in Concussion Protocol

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera dismissed any criticism of Cam Newton on Tuesday after the quarterback was seen riding a scooter without a helmet despite recovering from a concussion.

"I'm not going to worry about that," Rivera said, per David Newton of ESPN.com. "The bottom line is he's an adult. We'll go from there."

ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted a photo of Newton riding the scooter Monday:

Newton missed Week 5's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after not being able to pass the NFL's concussion protocol. He left Week 4's game against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter and did not practice ahead of the game against Tampa.

Derek Anderson started in Newton's place, throwing for 278 yards and two interceptions. The loss dropped Carolina to 1-4 on the season, putting it in stark jeopardy of missing the playoffs a year after being the NFC's Super Bowl representative.

Rivera said Newton was progressing toward playing this week against the New Orleans Saints:

"

He had a good day on Monday. He worked out with our training staff. He ran. He threw the ball. We had one of our young guys with him, and he was running routes for him. He lifted. I don't know how he is today. I didn't have a chance to see him. But I know [Monday] he did a lot, they put a lot on his table. So we'll see how he is.

"

Newton, the NFL's MVP a year ago, had a largely miserable first quarter of the season. He had one or fewer touchdown passes and at least one interception in three of four games. Football Outsiders ranks Newton 24th among quarterbacks thus far, a drop from his 12th-place spot a year ago. ESPN.com's QBR metric has Newton with the worst numbers of his career.

If the Panthers were 4-1, this very likely wouldn't be an issue. But with Carolina's season spiraling and the Falcons three games ahead in the NFC South, people are going to start finding nits to pick.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.