After dropping five passes in his return to his hometown of Detroit on Sunday, Devin Funchess missed Wednesday’s practice for the Carolina Panthers as they prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks back home in the cozy confines of Bank of America Stadium, where they’re 5-0 on the season. Wednesday practice is normally not an indication of whether a player will be ready on Sunday – Ryan Kalil, Julius Peppers, Mario Addison, James Bradberry, Mike Adams, and Shaq Thompson all didn’t participate in practice but are expected to be fine for Week 11 and Funchess said in the locker room that he would be alright.
“We’ve still got a couple more days of practice,” said Ron Rivera after practice. “I know they were treating him all day, he was in yesterday and got some treatment, I believe, too. We’ll see how it is – it’s one of those things, when a guy hurts his back, it’s always about how they progress in terms of their rehab.”
While Funchess missed practice, the Panthers welcomed back Torrey Smith, who hasn’t played since injuring his knee in Week 7 – Smith worked on the side for the most part last week and worked out before the game; Rivera says Smith could potentially be a game time decision for Sunday’s matchup with Seattle.
And as always, Rivera warned that how players feel the day after practice is much more important than the day of practice.
“Torrey had a good day [and] worked well. They picked out a few opportunities for him to be on the field with the guys, he warmed up, did some things, took some reps – they planned him out pretty good and he seemed to handle it pretty well. We’ll see how he is tomorrow, though.”
While most Panthers fans anticipated that the team would eventually activate Matt Kalil from injured reserve – the Panthers starting left tackle who signed a five-year, $55m contract ahead of the 2017 season underwent a knee scope in August – Kalil has slowly worked his way back to fully healthy, working on the side for Weeks 6 & 7 before not appearing at practice until today’s session, albeit continuing to work on the side, there is another face that popped up at practice that may could possibly help the Carolina Panthers down the stretch as safety Da’Norris Searcy worked on the side during today’s session.
Searcy has been on injured reserve since he suffered his second concussion in less than 30 days in Week 2 – he is eligible to return to practice as early as tomorrow and could be active on Sunday, although that’s not likely – the Panthers feel confident with Eric Reid starting next to Mike Adams; but don’t count out Searcy, who told us in the locker room that although he had ‘heavy legs’ after putting on cleats for the first time since Week 2, he would like to come back this season if there’s an opportunity.
“He’s done really well – he’s done exactly what he’s supposed to and now is a good opportunity for him to start working so we’ll see what happens,” said Rivera. “We’re in a good spot right now, we’ve got some healthy guys [and] guys are doing some really good things, so there’s really no need to hurry or push anybody.”
The Panthers are traditionally very careful with bringing players back early from concussions, so expect the team to take every precaution with Searcy.
Kalil, who traveled with the team to Detroit, is also eligible to return to practice and the active roster. Check out the full injury report here:
| Name | Injury | Practice Participation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Adams | Rest | None | Vet Day For Pops |
| Mario Addison | Shoulder | None | |
| James Bradberry | Shoulder | None | |
| Ryan Kalil | Rest | None | |
| Greg Olsen | Rest/Foot | None | |
| Shaq Thompson | Shoulder | None | |
| Julius Peppers | Rest | None | Peppers Doesn't Practice Wednesdays |
| Cam Newton | Right Shoulder | Limited | "The New Normal" |
| Devin Funchess | Back | None | Overheard him in the locker room saying he would be alright |
| Torrey Smith | Knee | Limited | Hasn't played since Week 7 - slowly working his way back |
