After a day off yesterday, the Carolina Panthers returned to the fields at Wofford College in Spartanburg for another session of training camp. On a clear day, with the sun beating down, the players were sluggish at first, but became more animated towards the end of practice. In perhaps the most clear example of the up-and-down nature of training camp, wide receiver Fred Ross, who is fighting for a roster spot, made a nice catch on a long route downfield only to follow it up two plays later with an egregious drop in which a perfectly thrown ball from Joe Webb went right through his hands. As always, the storylines from today’s practice, after a gif of Daryl Worley taking a ball away from Kelvin Benjamin:
Cam Dealing With Soreness
Cam Newton didn’t throw after warmups today, skipping one-on-one drills entirely and most of the team drills, only entering the lineup to hand the ball off sporadically to Jonathan Stewart or Christian McCaffrey. Head coach Ron Rivera said, “He started warming up this morning and said he still felt a little bit sore, so we figured, why push it? Why have him throw with a sore arm and make it even sorer?” As far as the rest of the week, Rivera said, “We’ll see, again, he’s going to visit with the trainers, get his treatment and stuff like that and we’ll just go. Again, it made no sense to have him throw with a sore shoulder.” Newton sat out the second half of Sunday’s practice with the same sore shoulder.
Bigger and Boulware Not Impressing
Linebacker Zeek Bigger returned from his stomach ailment on Sunday to be a full participant in practice today, but neither he nor fan favorite Ben Boulware have done much to impress throughout the last week and today was more of the same. During one-on-one blocking drills, both players had trouble getting past their man to the quarterback, and both linebackers have been playing with the third string/practice squad players. Still early in camp, but either player would need to make a big impact in most, if not all of the preseason games to make the roster at this point.
Offensive Line Combinations
The coaches are trying multiple combinations on the offensive line, trying to see what they’ve got in some of their younger players during these early practices. With Amini Silatolu occupying the left tackle slot while Matt Kalil nurses a sore groin, offensive line coach John Matsko has been experimenting with multiple combinations across the line, including rotating rookie Taylor Moton in at both right tackle and right guard. We learned during last week’s practices that Moton would exclusively be playing on the right side, so it was interesting to see him get some time at guard. He didn’t fare poorly, but he was involved in multiple double teams (mostly on Julius Peppers) so it was hard to get a gauge for his guard play. Rotating through at both guard positions was backup center Tyler Larsen, who’s versatility is making it so that he seems more and more likely to make the roster.
Nagging Injuries
Multiple players sat out today’s practice, including Kawann Short, TE Scott Simonson, LB David Norris, DT Toby Johnson, and S Travelle Dixon, who was walking with a fairly prominent limp. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel sat out again with the nagging hamstring injury and has not practiced since last Wednesday. Captain Munnerlyn was wearing pads but didn’t participate after the first couple of drills, but is working his way back to full strength. It is still early, so not all of these will matter, but Kalil’s groin and Samuel’s hamstrings are the most troubling at this point. Corn Elder obviously did not practice, but that was no surprise, as he may not get back at any time during camp.
Be sure to follow us on twitter at @RRiotReport for constant updates as they happen. Have questions or want us to focus on a specific player or matchup? Let us know in the comments!
Previous Training Camp Reports:
