CHARLOTTE — Thursday felt like a normal day for the Carolina Panthers, and a normal day is treasured around here lately. Receiver Adam Thielen had his second day of practice, along with tight end Tommy Tremble.

On the other side of the ball, with more and more guys returning from injury, the defense was able to practice with more of a front-seven as envisioned, including Jadeveon Clowney at pass-rusher and Josey Jewell stabilizing the linebacker corps. Defensive end A'Shawn Robinson (knee) was on the field as a limited participant Thursday as well. Having those three on the field brings a sense of normalcy and experience that the defense has been missing the past couple of weeks.

"I'm just excited to be back. It will be good. We're both older guys," Jewell said this week of he and possibly Clowney's return. "Hopefully, we bring a good amount of leadership communication on the field is going to be good.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is being careful though, to not pin too much on the return of some of his starters.

"I really don't think about it that way. Each day is important, each week is important, and the mindset is always to try to win the next game, and so that's where we are," Evero said. "I don't have any control over the injuries or when guys get back and all of that stuff. That's for the performance people and Dave (Canales) and Dan (Morgan) and all those guys to manage.

"I'm always excited about the opportunity that we have in front of us. I always go into the game thinking that we have a great chance to win and, you know, it's our job to find a way to win that game. And so, beyond that, all of that stuff is outside of my control."

Trevin and Josey

If Jewell is able to play on Sunday against his former team, he'll be on the field for the first time (save a couple of plays in Week 4) with rookie Trevin Wallace. The latter is now calling the plays, something Jewell has done as well in his career, including with the Panthers. Having his voice alongside Wallace's should help streamline the pre-snap process.

After three weeks of starting and seven weeks of playing though, Wallace has become comfortable enough in his role to be obvious to all watching, Jewell included.

"He's done a good job," Jewell said of Wallace this week. "He's taken a lot of big steps from the first day he got here in OTAs to now, even on for the last three or four weeks, especially with me and Shaq Thompson being out.

"So definitely seen a lot of leadership come up through him, start to understand the game and you can tell he's playing a little bit smoother as the weeks go on."

Johnson continues to heal

Diontae Johnson has been held out of practice the last two days (Wednesday and Thursday) as he continues to heal from the side injury that arose on Friday of last week.

The receiver left practice early last Friday and received treatment over the weekend. He was able to play Sunday against the Commanders, on the field for 70 percent of the offensive snaps.

On Thursday Johnson clarified it is an oblique injury. It happened when he was running a route on Friday and he "felt a sharp pain." Asked if he felt the injury through the game in Washington, Johnson said "of course, but nothing I can't play through." As such, he feels he can play through it again this weekend.

If Johnson is on the field Sunday, it will be with quarterback Bryce Young again, who is starting in place of the injured Andy Dalton. Even if Johnson isn't able to practice this week with Young, he is confident the two can lean back on their work during OTAs and training camp.

"I feel like that stuff ain't going to change," Johnson said. "I still feel like it's still the same since OTAs and up to this point. Whoever's throwing the ball, I'm sure they're going to put the ball in the right spot for me to make a play, so I'm not really too much worried about that."

Stopping Bo

The Broncos defense is near the top of the league in total sacks, with 28 through Week 7. It's a category Denver is thriving in on both sides of the ball though. Bo Nix has been sacked nine times thus far, a total tied for the fewest in the league by quarterbacks who have played in every game.

"I mean, that's just the reality," Evero said of the Broncos average of 1.3 sacks per game, a number also tied for league best.

"Guys will get to him, and he can, obviously he's got the speed to get out of the pocket…he's strong so he can work through arm tackles, he can extend plays. So, it's a combination of both. And they've been doing a good job and it's going to be a good challenge for us."

The Broncos offensive line has allowed quarterback pressures on a mere 5.8 percent of drop backs, with the line responsible for only six sacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Evero said the Broncos sack numbers are a marriage of a good protection and Nix's ability.

"It's a combination for certain, like they know what they're dealing with in terms of a rookie quarterback and the growth and maturation that's going to happen over time. And, again, their staff is doing an excellent job in terms of scheming things up and the protection schemes are really good. They've done a great job with that and, he's just really, really hard to tackle."

Welcome Baby Franklin!

Safety and special teams ace Sam Franklin Jr. was absent from practice on Wednesday, but with good reason. He was back on Thursday as a proud first-time dad to baby boy Psalm.

He was born Tuesday afternoon, at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches. Franklin was in the room and promised he remained strong through the whole delivery.

Congrats to the happy family and baby Psalm, who will need Panthers gear very soon!