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The Panthers will activate defensive end Frank Alexander, but they still haven’t decided when.

Alexander, who was suspended the first 14 games of the season after twice violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, was reinstated Monday. The Panthers received a one-week roster exemption, and on Saturday, they will make a call on his status for Sunday’s game against the Browns.

“I visited with some of the coaches as to how they felt about the week he’s had, and they were very positive about it. He looks in great shape, and if we had to play him, they feel he could give us 30 snaps, 40 snaps. He’s done a great job in terms of his conditioning,” coach Ron Rivera said.

The Panthers may wait until Monday to move Alexander to the active roster. If they do, they’d still get to take a look at him during the season finale in Atlanta.

“Some of those other guys have done a nice job, and you see them trending up. So it’s about making sure we have an opportunity that warrants it,” Rivera said when asked why the Panthers would wait to activate Alexander. “I’d hate to just say, ‘We’re going to throw him in there to see what we’ve got,’ and then go, ‘You’re not going to play,’ when this [other] guy’s done a great job for us.”

“[Alexander’s] going to get an opportunity, and we’ll see when and how.”

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