With the Panthers returning from their mini-bye Tuesday, they held a full practice on a rainy November day at the Bank of America Stadium practice fields – the team will have an extra practice session this week with the additional rest to prepare for a 3-6 Detroit Lions team that has struggled recently; they’ve lost their past three games by at least two scores and given up 16 sacks over the past two weeks.
Due to NFL rules, the Panthers did not have to provide an injury report, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t ask about certain players who missed practice. Ron Rivera confirmed that both Ryan Kalil – who didn’t practice at all last week with an ankle injury – and Julius Peppers were given vet days; cornerback James Bradberry, who has only missed three games in his career, was sent home from the facility this morning after arriving with a fever.
While Matt Kalil still hasn’t been spotted at practice in almost three weeks, the left tackle is eligible to return to practice – or to game action – whenever the Panthers are ready to activate him.
“He’s working with the trainers,” said Rivera last month about Kalil’s return. “They’ve got him on the side now and as each week goes by, [we’ll] just listen to the evaluations and we’ll make decisions based on what the doctors and the trainers are telling us.”
Matt Kalil hasn’t been spotted at practice since before Week 7 against the Eagles.
Wide receiver Torrey Smith hasn’t practiced since injuring his knee in the Panthers’ Week 7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, but he says he’s hopeful that he can return this week; the 29-year old has been working his way back slowly and might have returned today if not for the inclement weather.
“If it was the Super Bowl, I probably would have been way more aggressive with everything,” Smith said. “But it’s important to be smart, and make sure you’re doing the right thing.”
While some in the fan community are worried the return of Smith will upset the offensive harmony and emergence of young wide receivers DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel, that’s not bothering the eight-year vet.
“I’m not really worried about all of that stuff,” said Smith. “Even if it means me coming back and I have to watch more than I’m used to, whatever we have to do to win, that’s really what matters most to me right now – I’m in a very good place with that and we have a real chance. I don’t want to be a guy that messes up chemistry, I don’t want to be a guy that interferes with the development of our young guys, but I know I’m going to bring it each and every time I’m out there and try to put our team in the best position to win.”
“There’s a lot of mouths to feed in that room, but we’ll all have our opportunities and the most important thing is to win.”
