Monday Evening Camp Recap

There really isn’t a lot to tell about the afternoon session of the Carolina Panthers practice other than players were being injured at an alarming rate.

We start with Darin Gantt of the Rock Hill Herald.

Minor scare in the night practice, when SS Chris Harris had to be hauled off the field with a big bag of ice strapped to his right leg. We got the ever-helpful diagnosis of “leg muscle strain.”

In and of itself, it’s not a reason for panic. But combined with the last week’s rash of DT injuries and MLB Jon Beason (ankle) going down in the morning session, and they’re again running short on bodies.

Doesn’t seem that either Beason or Harris is serious, but as the heart of the defense, any absence hurts.

— It’s going to be a long road back for WR Steve Smith, but he’s started taking the small steps. He signed every autograph on the way out, walked by Ken Lucas and said something that had them both laughing, and then caught a few touchdown passes in the night practice. Didn’t spin the ball once, either.

He knows he screwed up, and it’s going to take a long time.

Many people are watching.

Next up is Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette.  (Almost an instant replay)

Training camp is only a week old, but the Carolina Panthers are probably getting anxious to get the heck out of Spartanburg, S.C.

Aside from the Steve Smith fiasco, the Panthers seem to be losing players at a rate of about one per practice. On Monday night, safety Chris Harris was carted off the field with what a team spokesman called a “leg strain.” It’s not believed to be serious, according to the team.

Harris’ injury follows the morning session in which the team’s other defensive leader, Jon Beason, was carted off with a sprained ankle. Beason did not practice Monday night.

Both Beason and Harris are considered day-to-day.

With Beason and backup Adam Seward out, rookie Dan Connor ran with the ones and looked pretty good. Of course, the Panthers were practicing in shorts. When Harris went down, veteran Terrance Holt took over.