In/Out

• CB Bené Benwikere, who hasn’t practiced since tweaking his hamstring shortly before training camp, wasn’t supposed to be back until next week. So his return Friday night at Fan Fest was unexpected. Even for his coach.

“I was a little surprised,” Ron Rivera said. “He worked out this morning, and they felt really good about it, so they gave him an opportunity to come out and practice. I checked with him right after warmups, and he said he wanted to get a few reps in.”

Benwikere was limited to individuals drills and seven-on-sevens.

• WR Devin Funchess went through a full practice. He was pulled early Thursday after landing hard on his left shoulder while trying to make a catch in the end zone.

• DT Kawann Short remained out with a sore back.

• TE Ed Dickson, who’s been limited by a groin injury, wasn’t in pads.

• LT Michael Oher, DT Colin Cole and CB Charles Tillman all returned after having vet days on Thursday. OT Nate Chandler was also back after taking a maintenance day for his surgically repaired right knee.

Top Plays

• The Fan Fest record crowd of 55,060 gave the Panthers a chance to work on their hand signals. That’s what Cam Newton used to motion an audible to Fozzy Whittaker during a red zone drill. Moments later, Newton tossed a swing pass to his running back, who strolled in for a touchdown.

• S Tre Boston has seen his stock slip this week, but he made a great play in seven-on-sevens. After Kelvin Benjamin had appeared to get past Josh Norman, Boston slid in to snag an interception.

• RB Cameron Artis-Payne hasn’t been able to leap past Whittaker or Jordan Todman on the depth chart yet, but the fifth-round pick could be climbing soon. He started to come on in Spartanburg the past couple days, and Friday, he cut back across the defense to spring himself for a touchdown.

Offensive MVP

Benjamin: He continues to do what he wants to the defense. About the only thing that didn’t go right for Benjamin was he didn’t get a second foot down after making a catch over Norman during one-on-ones.

Defensive MVP

DE Kony Ealy: After a slow start to camp, Ealy has strung together three solid showings.

Other Observations

• Rivera has used the word “relevant” the past couple years to describe what he wants his team to become. The Panthers aren’t yet there nationally, but when you get 55,000 people to show up for a practice, you’re getting pretty popular.

“I think some of the things we’ve done in the past two seasons bodes very well for what we can become,” he said. “You won’t know until you put the pads on and start playing for real. I’m pretty excited about who we can become. We’ve got to continue to work well and stay healthy.”

• What a day for coach Braylon Beam, who held a pre-practice press conference and then danced with his heroes.

• Newton makes fans happy, Part 1:

• Newton makes fans happy, Part 2.

• Just a couple families watching fireworks on a Friday:

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