On a day when most clamored to see what number new Panthers safety Eric Reid might be wearing and how exactly he would fit into the Panthers defense, three key cogs in the Panthers offense and special teams returning to the Bank of America Stadium Practice Fields might have an even bigger impact than the former Pro Bowl safety who is expected to start next to Mike Adams on Sunday. The early bye may have helped cure some of the Panthers injury issues as wide receivers Damiere Byrd and Curtis Samuel, along with right guard Trai Turner all returned to the first practice session after the Panthers’ Week 4 vacation.
Samuel seemed most excited to be back after a mysterious illness kept him out the first three weeks of the season; NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the 22-year old and 2017 second-round pick had a “small procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat” just after the season began that has kept him sidelined from the practice fields as well as on Sundays. Samuel said that he stayed around the stadium watching film and attending meetings even as he wasn’t able to get on the fields – and now that he’s back on the field, he wasn’t scared to turn it loose, excited to talk about his “fresh legs” as he beamed at the reporters surrounding his locker after practice, indicating that he was able to fully run today after only running on the treadmill to work up to today’s session.
“It felt great – I was flying,” said Samuel, who boasted during the leadup to the 2017 draft that he could run a 4.2 40-yard dash. “I mean, sheesh, whew! I ain’t run that fast in a long time.”
“My legs are a little fresher and plus, with my speed, I think that’s kind of scary, so I’ve just got to focus on what I’ve got to do and put a good practice routine together and whatever happens, happens.”
The Panthers will continue to evaluate Samuel this week as he works his way back – Ron Rivera is a huge proponent of how the player reacts to practice the next day; Damiere Byrd practiced in a limited capacity ahead of the Week 3 matchup with the Bengals but was unable to suit up on Sunday – the Panthers are hopeful they’ll get both of their speedy wideouts back against the Giants.
“We’ll continue to watch him [and] see how [Samuel’s] conditioning is – obviously with his skillset and his speed [and] his ability to get downfield, it makes him a valuable part of [the offense],” said Rivera. “And we’ll get Damiere back as well, adding two speed players to what we do as far as the offense could be very good for us this week.”
While Byrd may not see a ton of playing time on offense – he didn’t see an offensive snap in Week 1 even with Samuel sidelined – it will be his special teams contributions that will add the most; the speedy punt returner had three returns for 47 yards in Week 1, including a 30-yarder that set up a score. The Panthers have had four returns for only 27 while he was sidelined.
The Panthers also saw the return of right guard Trai Turner, who missed Weeks 2 & 3 after being placed in the concussion protocol in the days following the Panthers’ Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys, to practice Monday. Turner, who has been named to the Pro Bowl the past three seasons, was replaced by Tyler Larsen for Week 2 & 3 – the Panthers rushed for 230 yards in Week 3 against the Bengals.
The first injury report of the week will be released on Wednesday.
