The New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers shared their second injury report of the week for their upcoming game on Sunday. The Patriots don’t have many changes from Wednesday, while the Panthers had a couple of big changes.
After missing Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury, WR Kelvin Benjamin returned as a full participant to the Panthers practice, a huge swing and boost for their offense. Benjamin suffered a knee injury at the end of the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints last week.
DT Star Lotulelei (shoulder) and EDGE Julius Peppers (rest) also returned as full participants to practice.
Did Not Practice
Patriots: RB Rex Burkhead (ribs)
Panthers: LB Jeremy Cash (calf), LB Thomas Davis (rib), EDGE Daeshon Hall (knee), EDGE Charles Johnson (rest), C Ryan Kalil (neck), RB Jonathan Stewart (rest), CB Daryl Worley (shoulder)
While the Panthers had three players return to the field, they added three more to the injury report. Both Johnson and Stewart received veteran days of rest, while Hall is a new addition with a knee injury.
Davis is a starting linebacker and his continued absence is worth noting, with head coach Ron Rivera saying that a decision on Davis will be made on Friday. Worley is a starting cornerback that has missed just one snap all season.
Limited
Patriots: WR Danny Amendola (knee), OT Marcus Cannon (ankle, concussion), WR Phillip Dorsett (knee), DB Nate Ebner (shoulder), CB Stephon Gilmore (groin), LB Dont’a Hightower (knee), CB Eric Rowe (groin), WR Matthew Slater (hamstring)
Panthers: QB Cam Newton (right shoulder), WR Curtis Samuel (back)
The Panthers and Patriots had no changes to their limited players at practice.