Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera calls team’s injuries ‘typical’ of preseason

Does it seem like there have been an awful lot of injuries during the Carolina Panthers’ training camp?

First there was Stephen Hill. Then Kelvin Benjamin. Frank Alexander tore his Achilles on Saturday. And now Ryan Kalil won’t play the rest of the preseason. And those are just a few.

But Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Monday after practice that this isn’t unlike most training camps.

“This is typical preseason unfortunately,” Rivera said, referring to the number of injuries and not necessarily the caliber of players. “You’re going to get two or three that are a little more serious than you’d like them to be and we’re at our two right now. Hopefully that’s where it remains.”

Starting on defense, end Charles Johnson did not practice again Monday with a sore calf. Johnson worked on the side with a weighted sled while practicing hand technique.

He strained the calf on Aug. 9 in Spartanburg and was held out until Aug. 17. He tried to practice that day but was carted back.

“Yeah, something like that,” Johnson said when asked if the soreness was worse than he originally thought. He said he’ll take it day-by-day on if he’ll play against the Patriots this week.

On offense, rookie Devin Funchess did not practice with a lingering hamstring strain, but Rivera sounded optimistic.

“He worked today with the trainer, did some route running and we’ll see how he is (Tuesday) morning,” Rivera said. “If he reacts nicely then he’ll get on the field.”

Tight end Ed Dickson said he experienced more soreness in his groin and was held out of team drills. He expects to play against the Patriots.

Other Panthers sitting out Monday were guard Amini Silatolu (calf), tight end Brandon Williams (groin), safety Colin Jones (groin), receiver De’Andre Presley (shin) and cornerback Lou Young (hamstring).

Tillman returns, calls groin injury ‘not a big deal’

Veteran cornerback Charles Tillman returned to practice after missing Saturday’s exhibition against Miami with a groin injury he said was “not a big deal at all.”

Tillman, 34, missed 22 games during his final two seasons in Chicago after tearing his right triceps both years. He says he’s felt good this preseason, adding there’s nothing preventative he can do in terms of the triceps.

“That’s just like asking (Packers wideout) Jordy Nelson did you do anything to prevent your (knee) injury? Nah, it’s part of the game,” Tillman said. “It’s one of those things. It happens. You could kick yourself in the butt all day trying to question yourself, why this happened?

“At the end of the day it happened, you’ve got to deal with it, move on, and look forward to the next obstacle in your life.”

Tillman appreciates the occasional days off Rivera gives to veterans. He said Rivera, as a former NFL player, recognizes when someone could use a break.

DE Frank Alexander waived, but could be back

Defensive end Frank Alexander was waived/injured on Monday after he tore his Achilles on Saturday. If Alexander goes unclaimed on the waiver wire on Tuesday, he will revert to the team’s injured reserve.

Carolina signed tight end Dallas Walker, who had previously been in Carolina’s rookie camp. Walker is the first tight end the team has signed since Jamie Childers broke his arm and was waived with an injury settlement.

Kelvin Benjamin remains on the team’s 90-man roster. Carolina could only waive/injured him at this time, but that would expose him to waivers and a team would most certainly pick him up. The Panthers will have to wait until after the first round of cuts next week before placing Benjamin on IR.

Observations

Observations from practice Monday in Charlotte:

▪  Undrafted rookie safety Dean Marlowe picked off Cam Newton in early team drills and assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Steve Wilks saw it coming. “Where’s he looking, 2-9?!” Wilks shouted at Marlowe just before Marlowe broke on a deep route by Corey Brown. Marlowe got behind Brown and caught the ball without much resistance from Brown.

▪  Newton and Ted Ginn hooked up on another deep pass after Ginn got behind Charles Tillman along the sideline. Tillman came back a couple plays later to make a nice break on a short throw to Fozzy Whittaker.

▪  Veteran safety Roman Harper didn’t realize Reggie Wayne wasn’t with a team before Monday, when the longtime Colts wideout signed a one-year deal with New England. “He’s probably just been chilling at the house enjoying his training camp off, which I ain’t mad at him for that,” Harper said.

▪  Outside linebacker A.J. Klein, who dropped an interception against Miami, had a Joe Webb pass go through his hands Monday. Klein swatted at the ball in frustration, knocking it about 10 yards on the ground.

▪  Mike Tolbert had a great hands catch in 7-on-7 drills. Newton threw the pass low and behind the fullback, but Tolbert stopped, reached down and plucked the ball before it hit the ground for a completion.

▪  Ginn, Brenton Bersin and Damiere Byrd took reps at punt return. Ginn, Brown and Jerricho Cotchery were the first receivers up in team drills, much like Saturday night. Bersin, Jarrett Boykin and Mike Brown were the second-team receivers.

▪  Defensive end Mario Addison blew by tackle David Foucault on a speed rush and would have tackled running back Cameron Artis-Payne in the backfield.

▪  In red zone drills, the first-team offense again did not get into the end zone. Newton threw the ball away on the final play as Addison rushed him coming off the edge freely. Anderson had his pass at the goal line broken up by cornerback Teddy Williams. But the third-team offense scored twice with Joe Webb finding Brandon Wegher for a score and then rushing right on a quarterback draw for a touchdown.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera calls team’s injuries ‘typical’ of preseason."