The Carolina Panthers reported to Spartanburg, South Carolina Wednesday to begin Training Camp. Although they don’t have their first full practice until Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET, there were some notable reports out of Wofford College to discuss this afternoon.
Four Panthers Placed on PUP List
Among those named to the Physically Unable to Perform list on the first day of camp was 17-year veteran defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers is recovering from off-season surgery to his right shoulder. This sounds much worse than it is though, as General Manager Mary Hurney relieved Panthers fans everywhere stating “Julius is fine. You want to be cautious… Listen, you know what Pep’s going to bring. I don’t think you worry a whole lot about Julius Peppers.” (courtesy of Joseph Person). So although Pep will miss some time at camp, it seems there is not much to stress over.
The three other players listed on the PUP were backup tight end Chris Manhertz, depth pass rusher Bryan Cox Jr. and roster-hopeful wideout Fred Ross.
Other News
The most concerning of the names listed on the non-football injury list was that of second-year wide receiver Curtis Samuel. As I broke down in part one of my Training Camp Preview, Samuel is a player that really needs a good showing in Spartanburg to solidify a roster spot. Every day of practice that Samuel misses could be crucial to his future with the team. The good news here is that Marty Hurney sounds extremely optimistic about Samuel and sees this as a more cautionary move stating, “We were very impressed with the way he came back and with what he showed during the OTAs and minicamp.”
As previously reported, former first-round defensive tackle Vernon Butler is facing assault charges for an incident that occurred over the off-season in Texas. As the incident is currently being investigated, Butler arrived in Spartanburg on Wednesday morning.
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