D uring the first few days of training camp, the Panthers have seen sixth-round running back Tyler Gaffney go down with a knee injury, and defensive end Greg Hardy fumble an opportunity to express some contrition. So a friendly back-and-forth between a couple former teammates helped bring some much-needed levity to Spartanburg Sunday.Since the Panthers’ playoff loss to the 49ers in January, longtime left tackle Jordan Gross has dropped 70 pounds. But not everyone is impressed.”I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of it. I think he looks kind of weird. He looks really unhealthy,” Panthers’ center Ryan Kalil, one of Gross’ good friends joked. “The problem is, he’s walking around and checking himself out in the mirror, and he thinks he looks cool. He just looks bad. And I’ve told him that many times.”During his 11 NFL seasons, Gross weighed in at around 305 pounds. He’s currently down to 235, a weight he hasn’t been since he was 15 years old.”My wife’s freaking out. She says she’s having an affair on me with me,” Gross said. “I’ve been asked if my brother plays pro football. People look at me funny. I was actually out on our boat, and this girl said, ‘Are you Jordan Gross?’ and I said, ‘No. He’s fatter than I am.’ And she said, ‘Yeah and you’re probably better at football than him, too.'”Fans will get to see plenty of the new-look Gross, a new member of the Panthers’ media team. He’ll host a show on Time Warner Cable’s SportsChannel titled “This is Gross,” a spinoff of the popular podcast he launched last year. He’ll also work the sidelines for the Panthers’ Radio Network.While he’ll be back on the field for games, the 34-year-old claims he won’t have an itch to get back in-between the lines.“I don’t miss playing, honestly. I really feel like I got it out of my system. I’m very excited to still be a small part of things and have a reason to come around,” Gross said.Even if that means catching some flack from teammates for his new look.”They think I look terrible. I come in here, and they’re lifting my shirt up, feeling my arms. It’s worse than the combine,” Gross quipped.”He thinks he’s sweet,” Kalil said. “We could go all day about this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”To which Gross replied, “He’s just mad at me because my ankles don’t hurt, and his do.”

BBR NUGGETS

• All you need to catch up from Sunday at camp: Kelvin Benjamin on a mini motorbike, Greg Hardy’s awful sense of timing and tact, video, photos, observations and quotes. — BBR
• David Newton on Hardy’s awkward press conference, “It left you with a bad taste.” — ESPN.com
• Tom Sorensen writes Hardy missed an opportunity. — Charlotte Observer

COMING UP 

The Panthers work in the morning for the first time this training camp. Monday’s practice starts at 9:25.