With Torrey Smith back at practice today, most of us expected him to pop onto the injury report as having participated in at least a limited fashion – but alas, that was not the case as the wide receiver, who has not practiced or played since injuring his knee during the Week 7 win over Philadelphia, did some light work on the side with trainers but ultimately left practice early.
“It’s just getting him back,” said Ron Rivera. “He had a good workout today, from my understanding – and we’ll continue to work with him and what the trainers have to tell us.”
While Smith may not be able to go on Sunday against the Lions, the Panthers welcomed cornerback James Bradberry, who missed yesterday’s session with an illness, back to a full practice. Ryan Kalil, who was also not spotted at practice yesterday, was active in a limited fashion – Kalil didn’t practice at all last week before playing almost a full complement of snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cam Newton and Greg Olsen were also limited, but that has been the case for Wednesday practices for the past few weeks as the team hopes to keep the veterans fully healthy. Newton did not throw during the media portion of practice.
While Ron Rivera was hopeful that Newton would be throwing tomorrow, as he has on most Thursdays before taking a full load on Fridays, he isn’t going to make any promises, especially while the team is dealing with some rainy and cold conditions.
“We’ll see – we’re going to stick to the plan and whatever Ryan Vermillion tells us, we’ll do.”
The entire 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 |
