The rumor of Cam Newton being this weekend's "Keep Pounding" drummer isn't officially official, at least not yet. But we do know that the Carolina Panthers great will be on the premises for the franchise's first home playoff game in a decade.

As announced this afternoon, a special episode of 4th & 1 with Cam Newton will take place on Saturday, from the Roaring Riot tailgate outside of Bank of America Stadium. The show goes live on YouTube starting at 12:30 p.m. ET, four hours before kickoff of Carolina's wild-card round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Panthers fans, ever since the team clinched the NFC South last weekend, have been clamoring for Newton to serve as the "Keep Pounding" drummer. And while the organization has yet to outright announce his expected appearance, they did drop a pretty strong hint on Wednesday . . .

Head coach Dave Canales, when speaking with reporters following Thursday's practice, played coy about Newton's possible return.

"I heard about that, I heard that rumor," Canales stated with a smile. "For me, it's just, we can use all the help we can get. You talk about bringing juice, and that momentum and that energy that comes. When I think about Cam, I just think of aura. He's the biggest big person. It's not just by his height and size, but also just the personality.

"If that happens, I think it's amazing. And we can use any type of energy and enthusiasm, and I know that our fans in Bank of America Stadium will be fired up if that does happen."

Well, it sure does feel like that's going to happen.

Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.

This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers great Cam Newton to be be at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday