CHARLOTTE -- Rookie defensive end Daeshon Hall was taken off the field early in Monday's practice after suffering a left knee contusion.

The Panthers will treat Hall and see how he responds, but as of late Monday afternoon, the team did not have a timetable for his return.

The third-round pick totaled 63 snaps in Carolina's first two preseason games, totaling two tackles and two QB hurries.

Other injury updates

--Quarterback increased his workload, as the Panthers had hoped.

--Same with wide receiver .

--Players who didn't practice: wide receivers Brenton Bersin (shoulder), Fred Ross (ankle), Keyarris Garrett (leg), tight end Scott Simonson (hamstring), guards David Yankey (undisclosed) and Chris Scott (undisclosed), defensive tackles Vernon Butler (knee) and Toby Johnson (leg), linebacker Jared Norris (undisclosed), cornerback Corn Elder (knee), safety L.J. McCray (undisclosed).

What about Love?The thin defensive tackle group received a reinforcement with Kyle Love's return.

The sixth-year veteran, who spent much of the past three weeks in a walking boot, twisted an ankle early in training camp.

"It's healing faster than I think people expected," Love said while walking off the practice field. "It's one of those things where you've just got to work your way back into it, so that's what I'm doing. I'm trying not to rush too much, but it's hard."

Running back puzzle:Running back* *Cameron Artis-Payne is a perfect example why the word 'projected' should have been attached to all those mock 53-man rosters you've likely seen since the draft.

The addition of Christian McCaffrey made many assume the Panthers would no longer keep a space open for Artis-Payne, but as Rivera pointed out after Artis-Payne rushed for a team-high 70 yards in Nashville, the third-year back is “having a tremendous camp.”

"He's in a tough position because Jonathan (Stewart) has had three really good years for us," Rivera said Monday when asked about Artis-Payne. "It's tough to (not) get a guy with that kind of ability on the field. Hopefully we can.

"We've got a lot of pieces this year and I do believe he fits in our puzzle."

Punter 'problem':Coaches don't often look forward to punting, but with Andy Lee and Mike Palardy currently in a too-close-to-call competition, Rivera had hoped to see more from them against the Titans.

"Unfortunately we only had two punts the other day and Mike got them both," Rivera said. "So we're going to start off with Andy (in Jacksonville).

"We've got to evaluate it. Both guys are kicking the ball very well for us right now."

Science class:The Panthers were originally scheduled to practice at 2 p.m. Monday. Then head coach Ron Rivera remembered that was primetime for the solar eclipse.

"We did adjust our practice," Rivera said after Monday morning's session, "because I didn't want one of our guys (to) sit there and say, "Hey, check it out!'"

Thanks to center Ryan Kalil, who came prepared with extra viewing glasses, Rivera and at least one-third of the roster got a safe look at the eclipse.

For most of his players, it was the first such event of their lifetime. For Rivera, it brought back memories from 1979.

"I remember doing the whole cardboard cutout thing," he said of the last total solar eclipse in the U.S. "That was cool."