In/Out

• DE Charles Johnson and OL Amini Silatolu remained out with calf injuries. CB Lou Young also missed another practice with a bad hamstring.

• LB Shaq Thomson was back on the field after his sore hamstring forced him to miss Monday.

• RB Jonathan Stewart, TE Greg Olsen, DT Colin Cole and CB Charles Tillman had the day off.

Top Plays

• Spring classes and a nagging hamstring have put Thompson behind, but the Panthers’ top pick may have had his breakthrough moment during a goal-line drill. When Derek Anderson dropped back to pass, Thompson read the QB’s eyes and reacted:

When asked what he saw on the interception, coach Ron Rivera said: “First of all, the quickness in his break. Playing with the vision that he has, the athleticism showed in terms of being able to plant and drive and undercut the ball, and make the interception. Plus, he has great hands.”

• After a groin injury forced TE Ed Dickson to watch most drills during the first week of camp, he’s starting to make more plays. His best yet came early in a team passing period when he hauled in a deep ball after getting behind LB Thomas Davis and S Kurt Coleman.

• On the first play of a two-minute drill, QB Cam Newton lofted a perfect pass to WR Kelvin Benjamin, who somersaulted after making the catch. CB Melvin White was trailing in coverage, but it’s possible S Roman Harper was supposed to be over there quicker:

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h/t @Panthers

Offensive MVP

Olsen: Yeah, he didn’t even practice, but this post-practice quote about Newton and Monday’s training camp scrap was so good, Olsen deserves some sort hat tip:“I’ve never seen such a minor storyline from a training camp practice turn into such headlines. It probably goes to show how much people like to talk about Cam and how much of a storyline he is. People can’t seem to get over that whole idea … trying to put Cam into a box and judge every move and every facial expression. Him sitting on the bench, the way he walks, the way he talks.”We’re going into year five now. I think that storyline both locally and nationally has been played out, and I think guys are tired of answering. I’m sure he’s tired of answering it. I think he’s done enough now to show what type of guy he is and what type of player he is. There’s never been any type of issue with him and teammates, or any issues involving him. I think that storyline has been exhausted, and it’s time for everybody to just move on and find something else to talk about.”

Defensive MVP

Thompson: Not only did he finally flash first-round skill with that interception goal line, but he had at least one other notable moment. During a red zone drill late in practice, he gave RB Fozzy Whittaker a pop that made it sound like they were wearing full pads and not just shells.

Other Observations

• Tuesday’s media turnout was much bigger than the past few days. Did something happen Monday?

• Rivera wasn’t in the mood to reminisce about the Newton vs. Josh Norman incident.

“Obviously, yesterday wasn’t a good situation for us and as far as I’m concerned, the situation is over, and if it goes on, I’ll address it as it happens,” Rivera said moments into his media availability.

Then, when asked if he thought Newton reacted the right way, Rivera replied:

“I just said it, I’m moving on to the next thing, okay. I’m moving on.”

• Last Tuesday, T.J. Heath was on an Alabama golf course when the Panthers called. Chris Houston was suddenly retiring, so they needed another cornerback at camp.

A week after Heath beat out two others in a tryout, he’s one of Spartanburg’s biggest surprises.

The 27 year old has bounced around the league since 2011, appearing in just five games. But Heath has been making so many plays since he joined the Panthers, he’s seen a good chunk of snaps with the second team the past few days. Among his highlights Tuesday: A pass breakup on a ball intended for Dickson near the goal line.

“It’s kind of interesting that a guy like that was out there and available,” Rivera said. “You bring him in, you work him out, you see his quickness, his ball skills and you think again that this guy should be in a camp, and wonder why he isn’t in a camp, and so we bring him in and give him the opportunity.”

So, why was he available?

“Good question.”

• Mike Remmers is on track to hold off Daryl Williams at right tackle to start the season, but the fourth-round pick is developing nicely. He’ll also continue to see more looks on the left side.

“The thing that I like about who he is is he’s a physical football, player. His forte of when he came in was everybody talking about his ability to block the run, but the one thing he most certainly has started to flash is his ability to pass protect,” Rivera said.

“One thing we have looked at is throwing him over at the left tackle position and he’s not looked bad at all, especially in one-on-one drills. Typically that’s where it’s most difficult because the defensive lineman is only thinking about getting off on the ball, so for him to have had success there is promising.”

Coming Up

One more practice (Wednesday, 9:25 a.m.) before Friday’s preseason opener in Buffalo.[vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]