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closeCHARLOTTE -- Even though he's not allowed to be around the team for two weeks, Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith found another way to get his message out.
Smith posted a blog item on his charity's Web site, athletesforyouth.org, that contained more remorse over punching cornerback Ken Lucas in the face, but the news was a pair of injury notes that previously didn't get much attention.
Smith came down hard on his right shoulder in the third preseason game, against Washington, and stayed down for a moment, but he was back on the field the next series. But in his blog entry, he hinted at the possibility of a larger problem.
"Man, I've been having shoulder problems since I hurt it in the Dallas game last year," Smith wrote. "I did rehab on it and I've had less pain day-to-day, but it hurts depending on the type movements I do and the sharpness of them. It's one of those things that have been agitating me and I didn't expect it to hurt as bad as it did when I fell on it. But it's part of the game. You play through injuries. You try to get healthy.
"I'm not sure what we'll do at the end of season. I'll talk to more than one doctor to get a fair assessment on the best procedure to minimize that pain that I have on a day-to-day basis. It really doesn't concern me too much. I'll play this season."
Smith didn't come out of that Dec. 22 game against the Cowboys and practiced fully the following week, and there was never any previous mention of a problem.
In more recent developments, he also suffered a concussion in the preseason opener against Indianapolis, the first of his career. That in and of itself is surprising, given his penchant for flinging himself all over the place and his leaping catches across the middle.
"I had these massive headaches," he wrote. "It started when I got hit and didn't stop until five minutes after we came back out from halftime. My best friend Allen had to drive my in-laws home after the game and my wife had to drive me to the doctor for a CAT-scan to make sure I had no bleeding on the brain.
"I took some tests to determine the severity of the concussion. I didn't know the severity of it until I was watching 'Training Day' that Thursday after the game and I couldn't remember what the next scene was. I've watched that movie four or five times. I was really messed up. It was my first concussion. It's like going out into the world real slow."
• INJURY UPDATE: Wideout D.J. Hackett got his third straight day of full practice in Friday when the Panthers got to the West Coast, and is listed as probable for the opener against the Chargers. He had been bothered by toe problems since Aug. 6, and this week's work gives him 13 completed practices since the start of camp.
Otherwise, there were no changes to the report. Running back Nick Goings (hand) and center Geoff Hangartner (ankle) were also listed as probable, with receiver Ryne Robinson (knee) and quarterback Matt Moore (broken leg) out.
The Chargers listed left tackle Marcus McNeill and center Nick Hardwick as out, with tight end Antonio Gates, linebacker Shawne Merriman and defensive tackle Jamal Williams all on the report as probable.
• TIGHTENING UP: Even though the news on Hackett was good, the Panthers are still short on healthy and familiar receivers -- Muhsin Muhammad, Hackett, Dwayne Jarrett and new return man Mark Jones are the only ones who'll dress Sunday.
With that, it's not hard to figure the Panthers will lean a little more heavily on the tight ends in the passing game.
Jeff King will still start, but one of the revelations of last December and this year's preseason was backup Dante Rosario, a more nimble option downfield.
"I think he can," quarterback Jake Delhomme replied when asked if Rosario could take up some of the slack. "He's very athletic. I think he made some plays toward the latter part of the season and all of offseason, too, he's one. I felt that way about Jeff King last year and I think I told you guys, he just does it right. You look up and he's going to play 10 years in the NFL.
"Dante is more of that guy who can move around a little bit. Jeff is more a hand-to-the-ground type tight end. I think they work very well together to complement our passing game."
• EXTRA POINTS: Former Panthers cornerback Ricardo Colclough will make a court appearance Oct. 3 on the drunk driving arrest that earned him his release.
Colclough's attorney said Friday he planned to enter a plea of not guilty at that date.
The reserve cornerback was going to make the team, but was stopped for driving while impaired about 14 hours before final cuts were due, and the Panthers made an example of him, releasing him that night. He's yet to latch on elsewhere.
Colclough was stopped by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on South Boulevard, and according to the report, blew a 0.14 on his blood-alcohol tests, nearly twice North Carolina's legal limit of 0.08.
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