HEALTH WATCH

 

• RB Jonathan Stewart had a veteran's day off. Fozzy Whittaker saw increased snaps while Cameron Artis-Payne also got in there with the 1s.

 

• FB Devon Johnson missed his second straight day. The undrafted rookie's back is barking again. It's an injury that kept him out of six games last season at Marshall.

 

• WR Stephen Hill was held out. "He apparently landed on his knee (Friday), and they just wanted to be careful it today, and they wanted to give him a day off today anyway," coach Ron Rivera said. "He should be fine; should be back tomorrow."

 

• DT Vernon Butler was back in full after he was carted off the field with a cramp late in Friday afternoon's practice.

 

PLAY OF THE DAY

 

Late in practice, QB Cam Newton lofted a pass toward TE Greg Olsen. It's a connection that usually works, but this time, LB Shaq Thompson got a hand on it. He tipped it with one hand before reeling in the interception.

 

PLAYER NOTES

 

• WR Devin Funchess went up between CB Daryl Worley and S Kurt Coleman to grab a Newton bomb in the end zone during 7-on-7s.

 

• WR Kelvin Benjamin, who seemingly caught everything thrown in his vicinity the first two practices, tried but failed to one-hand a catch on a ball that was thrown slightly behind him by Newton. Two plays later, Benjamin drew a big cheer when he made a diving snag near the sideline.

 

• WR Kevin Norwood didn't have a great day. He had a drop while going against Worley in 1-on-1s and another in team drills.

 

• TE Beau Sandland took a shot from CB Teddy Williams and held onto a short pass during 7-on-7s. Sandland added another catch a few plays later.

 

• TE Braxton Deaver took some reps at long-snapper, a position he filled in high school.

 

• DE Rakim Cox used a swim move to beat OT Daryl Williams during an Oklahoma drill in front of the whole team at the start of practice.

 

• CB James Bradberry made his best play of the first three days when he dove to knock away a Newton deep ball intended for WR Philly Brown.

 

• P Swayze Waters boomed a punt during an early special teams drill. It's not often you hear a crowd react to a punt during training camp, but Waters drew noticeable applause.

 

RANDOM NUGGETS

 

• Rivera barked at his defense early in practice when they were slow organizing between plays.

"We weren't ready to play football. That's baloney. I told the offense, 'If it happens again, just snap the ball.' They've gotta know who's in, they've got to know what their calls are, and they've got to get themselves lined up. That's not acceptable, so I let them know it."

 

• A healthy-sized crowd spent Saturday morning watching practice, but one fan caused a bit of a scene.

It was harmless when QB Derek Anderson and other players noticed the fan yelling about his upcoming comedy show. But later, the fan threw a football onto the field. An irked Funchess picked it up and launched it back into the crowd. The fan then made his way through the fence that separates the crowd from the field. He was eventually escorted out.

 

• Fans waited for autographs from Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy while they chatted with LT Michael Oher after practice: