CHARLOTTE – Ahead of their Week 5 matchup with the Lions, the Panthers on Wednesday handed in a lengthy injury report. Eight players missed practice and five were limited.
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who missed Sunday's game with a back injury, was one of the limited participants.
"I was happy to be out there," the second-round pick said. "I was a little bit limited, but I'm just trying to get back into it. I definitely feel much better than I did last week. Last week, I knew I wasn't going to be able to play with how my back was feeling, but this week I'm feeling good.
"It's pretty frustrating to get over something and then something else happens. It's frustrating, but it's all tied together – keeping my hamstrings loose can help my back out."
After missing just one game in three seasons at Ohio State, Samuel's rookie year has been hampered by injuries. He sat out the majority of the offseason with a nagging hamstring injury and has only seen action in two of the Panthers' four games.
"I know he was frustrated last week because obviously there were some things we wanted to do with him to create a bigger opportunity for him," head coach Ron Rivera said. "He knew that, but unfortunately he aggravated it, and with him not being able to practice Friday, there's no way we could put him out there."
Rookie Demetrious Cox was one of the eight who sat out practice, making an already thin safety group that much thinner.
"I feel good," said Cox, who replaced injured starter Kurt Coleman on Sunday. "Just trying to rehab my ankle as much as I can. We're just going day by day right now. We'll go out and see what I can do tomorrow and go from there.
"(The Patriots) have a new turf, so I think my foot just got stuck in the turf funny."
Others who didn't practice: defensive end Mario Addison (knee), wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (knee), Coleman (knee), linebacker Thomas Davis (rib), and centers Ryan Kalil (neck) and Tyler Larsen (shoulder). Veteran defensive end Julius Peppers was given his typical Wednesday rest day.
Rounding out the limited list was defensive end Daeshon Hall (knee), defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (shoulder), quarterback Cam Newton (shoulder) and guard Trai Turner (knee) were all limited in practice.
The good news is cornerback Daryl Worley, who missed Sunday's game, practiced in full.
"I'm OK," he said. "It was pretty solid. Being back, I felt a little slow, but that's just how it is when you take a week off. But I'll be back."
