With Carolina Panthers receiver Philly Brown "very doubtful" to play Sunday against the Redskins, rookie Devin Funchess is in line to make his first career start.

Brown felt a pinch in his left shoulder when he went to make a move during Thursday's practice. The Panthers are worried it's the same injury he suffered against the Cardinals in January. That was a subluxated shoulder, which usually occurs after a partial or complete dislocation. Brown was able to play a week later against the Seahawks, but he doesn't have as many days to heal this time.

"The wise money would probably be to hold him out unless somebody else gets sick or something," coach Ron Rivera said Friday.

"Right now Philly's playing really well and doing some really good things. This is probably one of those things where if you don't need to have him out there we probably won't."

Brown has 17 receptions, four fewer than he had as a rookie, and he's already surpassed last year's total with three touchdowns.

If Brown doesn't play Sunday, Brenton Bersin, who was inactive last week, should be back in the lineup. Kevin Norwood, who hasn't played since Week 2, may also get a shot. The big change will be in Funchess' status.

 

 

Like most rookie wideouts, the second-round pick has had his share of ups and downs. A look at his chronological snap counts show as much: 26, 38, 31, 26, 21, 18, 10, 18, 22.

After a tweaked hamstring slowed him down in the preseason, Funchess had nearly as many drops (6) as receptions (7) in the Panthers' first seven games. But the past two weeks, he's caught all five of his targets for 112 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Now it looks like he'll get the first start of his career.

"In college I just got thrown into the fire, and here, I was working my way up from that injury," Funchess said.

"It's kind of another achievement knocked off the chart. I [may not] sound excited, but I am excited."