Thomas Davis returned Monday, and all is right with the world

The Carolina Panthers welcomed the veteran back on Monday.

One of the key members of the Carolina Panthers defense is back. Monday, linebacker Thomas Davis returned from his suspension, bolstering the Carolina linebacking corps.

Between being out of the game for four weeks and the passing of his father on Saturday, Davis has had a trying four weeks. He spoke a bit about the passing of his father via Instagram as noted by Steve Taranto of 247Sports.

"“This has easily been the toughest four weeks of my life,” wrote Davis on his Instagram account. “It’s one thing to lose the opportunity to play the game you love but to lose a parent is extremely hard! Today God called my Dad home to be with him. … Please cherish every day that you have with your loved ones because you never know when that day is going to come that you can no longer tell them how much you love and appreciate them.”"

As Thomas sets to make his season debut against Washington on Sunday, he will undoubtedly be playing with a heavy heart. Even still, he should be a tremendous asset to the defense and I bet playing the game he loves will act as a welcome distraction in the face of sorrow.

The linebacking unit has been playing solidly without him and has certainly shown they can hold their own. Guys like Luke Kuechly have really stepped up and made an impact and the Panthers as a team have not missed a beat. Going 3-1 over the first four games of the season, having a guy like Davis bolsters an already-strong team.

For his career, Thomas Davis has 1,032 tackles and 28 sacks in what has been an impressive 13-year career. Now, with a four-game break so to speak, he should be even more fresh and ready to go. Particularly if the Carolina Panthers continue to play this well, a playoff run is definitely in sight. At the very least, he will be able to provide leadership to the younger members of the defense, and there is no doubt that the other members of the team love having him around as well.

It will be difficult to make predictions on how he will perform on Sunday but I bet he will record at least a couple tackles in his debut. He is not the type of player that necessarily needs a warmup game, and I do not think it will be long before he makes a sizable impact. He should be familiar with defensive coordinator Eric Washington’s system, and having him as a linebackers coach previously should help as well.

Welcome back TD! All is right with the world again and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact he will be able to make in an abbreviated season.