In/Out

The Panthers thought receiver Stephen Hill tore his ACL shortly after he landed awkwardly on his right leg Saturday, but those fears weren’t official until they saw the results of his Sunday morning MRI.Because teams aren’t allowed to put a player on injured reserve until the first cutdown on Sept. 1, the Panthers designated Hill as waived/injured.His replacement on the roster jogged onto the field shortly after the start of Sunday’s practice. Paul Browning, a 6-foot-2 wideout from Colorado State-Pueblo, spent some time with the Browns this spring after he went undrafted.A day after his wild leap out of the end zone, cornerback Chris Houston sat out with a sore toe. But assistant head coach Steve Wilks said Houston didn’t hurt himself going over the fence. Instead, he reaggravated an old injury when his foot bumped a receiver’s foot.Defensive tackle Kawann Short (back) and cornerback Bené Benwikere (hamstring) remained out.Wilks spent his second and final day in charge. Ron Rivera is expected back Sunday night after attending his brother’s funeral in Reno.

Health Watch

No new injuries were reported after practice.

Top Plays

• Because he missed so much time in the spring, it’s sometimes easy to forget the Panthers made Shaq Thompson their first-round pick. But the linebacker had his best day yet, showcasing his speed from sideline-to-sideline. His best play led off sevens-on-sevens when he read Cam Newton in time to bat his pass away before it reached tight end Greg Olsen.

• Second-round pick Devin Funchess had his most productive day since early in OTAs. His best moment was a leaping grab near the left sideline in one-on-ones against cornerback Lou Young.

• During individual drills between linemen, defensive end Frank Alexander blew past left tackle Michael Oher so quickly, he nearly tackled an assistant coach who was standing in at quarterback.

Offensive MVP

Right guard Trai Turner: While the offensive line allowed pressure from the edges, Turner appeared to have his spot on lockdown most of the day. It’s hard to believe he’s already spent one season as a starter yet he just turned 22 in June.

Defensive MVP

Cornerback Charles Tillman: Before practice, the former Bear shared a story about how he used to get mistaken for Devin Hester when they were both in Chicago. During practice, Tillman showed his new teammates he’s still really good at what he’s done so many times.Quarterback Cam Newton and running back Jonathan Stewart were each victims of the “Peanut Punch,” a Tillman trademark that’s produced 42 forced fumbles.Stewart said he was “kind of shocked” because he had two hands on the ball.”He’s the best at it. He’s going to make us a great team for it.”

Other Observations

• It was just the third day of camp, so there’s no reason to freak out yet, but the first day in pads wasn’t a good one for Oher. From Alexander’s blow-bys to Mario Addison’s knock down of a would-be screen pass, defensive ends seemed to take turns doing what they wanted against Carolina’s new left tackle.

• Defenses are usually ahead of offenses this early in camp. The tradition continued Sunday, and it wasn’t all Oher’s fault.

“We always talk about not giving up the big play, and we didn’t do that today,” Wilks said. “The corners were in great position, the energy was there, the guys running to the football. We probably had about six or seven caused fumbles. It was a great day for us on defense.”

• With Benwikere out, Colin Jones keeps racking up reps at nickel. He started off the final session of team drills with a diving pass breakup on a ball intended for tight end/fullback Richie Brockel.

• The renovated hill overlooking the practice fields at Wofford seems like a great way to spend a day. The Panthers partnered with Lowe’s to make the area pristine, and that’s exactly what it looked like on Sunday.

Coming Up

One more practice until the first off day of camp. They’ll start at 9:25 Monday morning.[vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]