The Carolina Panthers had an extra day of practice this week coming off of a Thursday night game – the keyword in that sentence is had. Instead of practicing in the cold, driving rain, Ron Rivera and his staff decided to abandon plans for practice on the outdoor Bank of America Stadium Practice Fields in favor of what is expected to be a clear day tomorrow. That means that the injury report – which the team is required by the NFL to present Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on normal game weeks – is strictly an estimation.
It also, not so coincidentally, happens to be exactly the same as yesterday’s report.
“Well, today was going to be our typical Friday practice – all situational football,” said Rivera. “But last night, checking the weather and sitting down with [Director of Football Operations] Bryan Porter, we talked [about how] if we got up in the morning and it was raining that we would go ahead and flip-flop the schedules so we took what we were going to do tomorrow and did it today. Tomorrow we’ll be able to go out and have a situational practice which is typical of our Fridays.”
The “new normal” has been for the Panthers to hold Cam Newton from throwing early in the week in order to give the 29-year old with the surgically repaired shoulder as much rest as possible, but with the cancelled practice, that threw a wrench into plans to let Newton off the leash today from a throwing perspective.
“It was all scripted and everything was set, but because of the situation, we decided not to practice outside in the weather,” said Rivera.
Newton is scheduled to throw during practice tomorrow, the team’s final session before they leave for Detroit on Saturday. The (estimated) injury report is below:
| Player | Injury | Practice Participation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torrey Smith | Knee | None | Smith worked on the side with trainers before leaving practice early. |
| Ryan Kalil | Ankle | Limited | |
| Cam Newton | Right Shoulder | Limited | "The New Normal" |
| Greg Olsen | Foot | Limited |
