CHARLOTTE – The Panthers had a walk-through Tuesday, and had to submit a hypothetical injury report for it since they’re playing at Green Bay Saturday night.
So even though running back Christian McCaffrey was listed as limited with his thigh injury, coach Matt Rhule wanted to make sure expectations were realistic.
“I’m not expecting him to play, as of right now,” Rhule said. “We’ll see how the next couple of days unfold, obviously. But today was a walk-through, so he was able to do some things, but I’m not expecting him to play as we sit here right now. . . .
“I haven’t really seen him run yet. If he could come out and really run tomorrow, that would probably turn my thinking, but just trying to give you guys some direction on where I’m thinking. I know he’s improving and getting better, but on a short week, as of right now, … I’m not expecting it as of right now.”
No players were listed as out (which makes sense, since it was a walk-through), and the following players were listed as limited: safety Tre Boston (hamstring), offensive lineman Dennis Daley (concussion), defensive end Austin Larkin (shoulder), and left tackle Russell Okung (calf).
That suggests some progress in Daley’s case, since he’s missed the last two games, and was wearing the red non-contact jersey during his appearances at practice last week.
With a short week to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Packers, managing workloads will be a key. But Rhule stressed after the loss to the Broncos that he wasn’t satisfied with the execution of his players, so getting enough work is important as well.
“I think we just have to be smart about what we ask them to do at full speed,” he said. “At the same time, there’s a certain amount of reps you have to get, especially coming off a game where we did not feel like we executed at the highest of levels.”
You can read Tuesday’s full injury report here.
