As the Panthers head into Philadelphia for a key game against the Eagles – according to the NYTimes Playoff Simulator, a win on Sunday gives the Panthers a 55% chance of making the playoffs and a loss puts them at 36% – they are relatively clean from an injury standpoint. Aside from rookie linebacker Andre Smith, who was unlikely to be active on Sunday anyway, the Panthers only had two players on limited reps on Thursday – Greg Olsen, whose new normal is going to be limited reps as the 33-year old works his way back from a fractured fifth metatarsal, and rookie cornerback Donte Jackson.
“[Jackson] was sore on Tuesday and Wednesday and so we came out on Wednesday and backed him down a little bit,” Ron Rivera said about the rookie corner who shares the league lead with three interceptions. “He did some limited stuff; today, we increased it a little bit more [and he was] moving around pretty well, so I’m not really concerned about it.”
While Mike Adams, Mario Addison, Ben Jacobs, Kyle Love and Julius Peppers all returned to full practice today, tackle Matt Kalil continued to work on the side with trainers as he rehabilitates from a knee scope in August – Kalil is on injured reserve but is eligible to return to practice this week, although Rivera said it may be more time before Kalil is ready to return.
“It’s a long process, don’t forget the guy had surgery, basically,” said Rivera when asked about Kalil. “He’s been really diligent with it, he’s been working with it and it’s not necessarily just about ‘OK, he’s eligible to come off for practice’ – OK, but we’ve got to make sure before we start exposing him, that everything is working right. Because when you have a surgery, there’s a lot of muscles involved [and] a lot of conditioning.”
Check the full injury report here:
| Position | Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Mike Adams | Rest | Full | |
| DE | Mario Addison | Rest | Full | |
| LB | Ben Jacobs | Not Injury Related | Full | |
| DT | Kyle Love | Shoulder | Full | |
| DE | Julius Peppers | Rest | Full | Doesn't Practice Wednesdays |
| LB | Andre Smith | Hamstring | None | |
| CB | Donte Jackson | Groin | Limited | |
| TE | Greg Olsen | Foot | Limited | The New Normal |
