He’s baaaaaaack.
Probably.
Six-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil looks poised to make his return this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings after missing most of the season with a neck injury; after playing every snap in the season opener at San Francisco, Kalil was declared out a few minutes before the Week 2 home opener and has only played 15 snaps since. He was active two weeks ago against the New York Jets, but did not see the field, Ron Rivera said after the game that would have only played in an “emergency” situation had something happened to Tyler Larsen, who has been the player snapping the ball to Cam Newton on 89% of the snaps in 2017. That will be different this week against Minnesota.
“I’ll be suiting up and snapping the ball on Sunday,” Kalil said in the locker room after another limited practice session Thursday.
While Kalil was ready to make his status official, Ron Rivera was not quite as declarative.
“Well, we’ll see. He’s had a good couple of days, we’re real encouraged by it; I know he’s encouraged by it. He looks good out there on the field and so we’ll continue with it,” Rivera said. “Well, I know Ryan wants to be out on the field and that can be very frustrating, and the thing that we try to preach with him is just patience and he’ll know. And obviously, he feels pretty good right now so we’re excited about that.”
If Kalil is able to both start and finish the game on Sunday, it will be perfect timing with Larsen missing both days of practice thus far this week. Rivera said that one of the reasons the team didn’t place Ryan Kalil on injured reserve, even though he essentially missed ten weeks of action, was the struggle to find another center with the amount of movement the offensive line must do in the Panthers’ offense; he also felt comfortable being patient with Kalil’s rehab with Larsen and Greg Van Roten on the roster, calling both of them “really smart football players, both developing young players that have futures in this league.”
The Panthers will be facing a tough test with one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL coming to Charlotte. Minnesota is allowing the second-fewest yards and points in the NFL and lead the league in getting teams off the field by only allowing a 27.2% third-down conversion rate. The Panthers are hoping that Kalil is able to give them a spark.
“It’s one of those things when you kind of get, I guess, the head of the household if you want to call it that,” guard Trai Turner said about Kalil. “It’s not just about the offensive line, he’s a voice on the offense and on this team, period so just having him out there, you know, I think it gives guys confidence and also gives a morale boost to the team.”
