CHARLOTTE – The Panthers wrapped up their last practice of week on Friday, and saw a return of several faces that bode well for Sunday.

Punter Johnny Hekker was able to kick during Friday's practice, and while he was listed as questionable on the final injury report, Dave Canales said he expects him to be available to play.

"He kicked today, he looked great," Canales remarked of his punter after practice. "He placed them inside the five just like he always did, had good power. So, we really just have to kind of go off of that, off of what we saw today. So he had a great day."

Hekker was one of five listed as questionable, but Canales said he actually hopes all will be fine to play on Sunday. Tight end Tommy Tremble is one of those. Tremble (hamstring/back), who missed most of training camp and Week 1, was able to practice in a limited capacity all week.

Asked if he feels Tremble has made enough progress to play on Sunday, Canales said, "He looked great. He looked great running around, was confident, looked great in the blocking, the route schemes, all that stuff. So really excited to get Tommy back out there to help us."

Damien Lewis and Taylor Moton also received a questionable status after being limited on Friday, but Canales said they were moving around and looked great as well. Running back Raheem Blackshear was absent with a personal family issue, the same reason he was out on Thursday. Canales is confident that Blackshear can be a plug-and-play on Sunday, particularly in the return game. In the interim, the back has stayed plugged in.

"We're counting on him to do that," Canales said of the idea of Blackshear jumping right into the game plan on Sunday. "He's been connected with us with his iPad, going through the installs and all that. He left; he had a family emergency. So, hearts and prayers are out to Raheem and his family."

If Blackshear ends up not being available, Canales pointed to Xavier Legette and David Moore as guys capable of returning punts and kicks.

Charles Harris' impact

The Panthers added veteran defensive end Charles Harris this week, after three years with the Detroit Lions. The former first-round pick out of Missouri has 16.5 sacks in his seven-year career. He played two years under defensive line coach Todd Wash, while with the Lions, so has familiarity with the system. If he does end up needing to play, the history with Wash is what the Panthers are taking into account, more than the fact he's only been in Charlotte for a few days.

"Obviously, first round draft pick and, he's had a lot of production in this league," defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said of Harris on Thursday. "The one thing that jumped out on tape yesterday is, he's on the field and he's running to the ball, running 50 yards down the field.

"Plays with great effort, plays with great physicality. I really, really love his play style."

Harris' best year in the league came in 2021, under Wash. That season, he played in 17 games for the Lions, starting 14, and accumulated 7.5 sacks, 65 total tackles, 16 quarterback hits and forced two fumbles.

"He looked great," Canales echoed on Friday of Harris' tape this week. "He handled the workload this week and I don't know what his role in a full capacity would be like, but he certainly looked great this week.

"He was physical at the line of scrimmage. He's got cool pass rush tools. A lot of juice, added a lot of good energy to the group, the professionalism that he has from being around in the league. So, he's got a lot of things that bode in his favor," Canales said.