The Carolina Panthers returned to the practice field on Wednesday for the first time since their Week 9 upset victory over the Green Bay Packers. The injury report is a mixed bag of updates, with one critical player not taking part in the early-week session.
Carolina Panthers RB Did Not Participate in Wednesday’s Practice
The leading rusher in the NFC, Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (quadriceps), did not participate in the first practice of the Week 10 preparation period. Head coach Dave Canales didn’t sound alarmed about the scorching-hot RB’s absence, telling reporters:
“He was just working through some stuff during the game. Want to be smart about it. We’re counting on him this weekend. And so, wanted to make sure that we get him on the right track so he can get out there tomorrow (Thursday).”
Reinforcements appear to be on the way for the Panthers’ offensive line, following another game where they had to cobble together the pieces amidst in-game injuries. Starting center Cade Mays (ankle/knee) was back at it and was designated a full participant after missing all of last week.
Starting left guard Damien Lewis (oblique) was a full participant as well, after putting together limited sessions this time last week. Guard Chandler Zavala (elbow), however, did not participate while his status is still being determined.
Rookie OLB Princely Umanmielen (ankle) made his way back to full participant status after not recording any level of practice the week prior. Safety Lathan Ransom (illness), another contributing rookie defender, was listed as limited.
Former Second-Round Defensive Back Visits the Panthers
Former Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., who was recently given a clean bill of health and deemed to have fully recovered from undergoing a spinal fusion procedure, visited the Panthers on Wednesday.
While nothing imminent came from the meeting, Canales described the “really nice conversation”, offering, “A fantastic player for the Chargers for a while. Has played in our (Panthers’) scheme. All those things. And just, it’s part of our process, you know, when there’s guys out there that are coming back from injuries, that are ready to go. You know, let’s look at all of them. And you never know. It’s a long season.”
Samuel Jr. only played in four games in 2024 before his season ended via injury. However, his most recent full season, in 2023, when he amassed 63 total tackles, two interceptions, and 11 PBU, PFSN CBi graded him with an 81.0 score, which ranked No. 31 among all qualifying cornerbacks.