In/Out

• DT Kawann Short missed his third straight practice with back spasms. An MRI came up negative and coach Ron Rivera said Short is “close” to returning. He’ll be re-evaluated back in Charlotte on Tuesday during the team’s day off.

• CB Bené Benwikere’s sore hamstring is still keeping him out, but he continues to jump into some walkthrough drills.

• Six veterans had the day off: RB Jonathan Stewart, WR Jerricho Cotchery, C Ryan Kalil, DT Dwan Edwards, LB Thomas Davis, S Roman Harper.

• Rivera returned after spending the weekend in Reno to attend his brother’s funeral. While he was gone, Rivera followed what was going on in Spartanburg by checking Twitter and watching video of the two practices he missed on his iPad. One of those was Michael Oher’s rough Sunday practice, even though “rough” isn’t a word Rivera would use.

“It wasn’t as dramatic as I read,” he said. “Once I saw it on tape, I was actually relieved. Then I thought he picked it up. I thought he looked much better in the team events.

“He struggled a bit on one-on-one. He was a little bit rusty coming out of his stance, the speed I think was the biggest factor, but as practice went on and he started getting into the team events, I thought he looked really good.”

Health Watch

• DT Star Lotulelei was carted off the field late in practice. He was later diagnosed him with a stress reaction in his right foot. He’ll stay in the walking boot he was wearing in the afternoon while he sits out the next few weeks of camp. Lotulelei may miss a part or all of the preseason, but the hope is he’ll be ready for Week 1 in Jacksonville.

• RB Jordan Todman ran to the sideline to vomit a couple times. He’s been bothered by a stomach bug, so Monday’s scorching sun wasn’t a good mix.

  

Top Plays

• Shortly after undrafted FB Lee Ward received this ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment from LB Adarius Glanton:

Ward stood his ground in pass protection against LB Jason Trusnik:

The force of the hit smashed Ward’s facemask against his chin, opening up a cut. But the block gave Derek Anderson time to fire to the sideline where Kelvin Benjamin leaped over Teddy Williams. Benjamin grabbed the pass and tapped both feet inbounds while falling down.

• Newton and rookie wideout Devin Funchess are still working on their timing, but this moment may have had more to do with Josh Norman’s quick reaction. After he knocked away Newton’s pass to Funchess, Charles Tillman swooped in to grab the tip for an interception.

  

• Tillman’s influence continues to show in the form of fumbles. More balls hit the ground Monday, including one Brenton Bersin lost when he was stripped near the sideline by Norman.

MVP

Team doctor Robert Anderson: Instead of our daily offensive and defensive MVP, we’re picking just one guy for Monday. And really, this is an MVD.When Lotulelei came limping off the field, it just so happened one of the best foot specialists in North America was standing on the sideline.“The best thing is Dr. Anderson happened to be in town,” Rivera said. “Doc decided it’d be better to take him in.”There’s certainly a good possibility the Panthers would have pulled Lotulelei if Anderson wasn’t at practice, but regardless, it was good timing for that specific bad situation.A stress reaction could turn into a stress fracture, so getting Lotulelei off the field and into a walking boot as soon as possible may have prevented a worse diagnosis.

Other Observations

• With a half-dozen veterans getting a day off, coaches were able to shuffle starting lineups. Most notable on defense, first-round linebacker Shaq Thompson stepped in for Davis. On offense, the line took on a much different look.

“We wanted to take a real good look at Mike Remmers at center and thought he did a nice job,” Rivera said. “Amini [Silatolu] got to play with the first bunch at left tackle and thought he did good. Daryl Williams got an opportunity at right tackle with the first bunch. He struggled early but then he seemed to settle in and got better and better.”

• Head trainer Ryan Vermillion told Rivera Monday’s heat index was 109, so the players got a couple extra water breaks. One was even extended for five minutes, but all the break time was eventually added to the end of practice.

• RB Cameron Artis-Payne drew cheers from the sweaty crowd when he made a nifty cutback during 9-on-7s.

• There was an above average amount of contact allowed in those drills, with the biggest stick coming from S Dean Marlowe. That earned the undrafted rookie a congratulatory helmet slap from defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

• Newton didn’t get a pass off during his first three dropbacks of passing drills. On one, a blitzing Thompson was in his face immediately. The others featured a good mix of pressure and coverage in the secondary. Newton finally got to throw on the fourth play, lobbing a perfect pass to Bersin, who had slipped past Tillman.

• With TE Brandon Williams on PUP with a groin injury, both Scott Simonson and Jamie Childers stated their case with an impressive catch.

Coming Up

After four practices, the players get Tuesday off. They’ll be back on the practice field Wednesday at 9:25 a.m.[vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]