The Carolina Panthers are dealing with some injury issues heading into their Week 1 road clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This has completely overshadowed one potentially encouraging return that could be a game-changer.
Dave Canales is anxiously awaiting the statuses of left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and formidable left guard Damien Lewis. The prognosis is even bleaker for wide receiver Jalen Coker, who was placed on injured reserve with a quad strain just one day after the Panthers traded Pro Bowl wideout Adam Thielen to the Minnesota Vikings.
Injuries are all part of the game. Canales will have to tackle more once the punishment of the regular season begins to take its toll. But considering the need for Carolina to get off on the front foot, this is far from ideal.
Tommy Tremble feeling more like his old self, and that's great news for the Carolina Panthers
There was one shining light amid the doom and gloom. Tommy Tremble is practicing after missing almost the entire offseason program. A back injury he'd been dealing with for a year finally got rectified, which has given the tight end a new lease of life that can hopefully lead to better production moving forward.
"Football is a 100 percent injury rate, and it was something that just kept lingering around, so luckily we caught it in OTAs and just got it wrapped up with. I mean, this was kind of the end, be-all to kind of clear it out, get rid of it. After dealing with it for almost a year plus, it's nice to know that I can just play football and be me again without having that kind of weighed me down."Tommy Tremble via Panthers.com
The Panthers will take the cautious approach with Tremble. He'll be extremely eager to get back involved, but he missed a lot of time. Even if he is active versus the Jaguars, it's highly unlikely he'll be ready for a heavy workload as the team's blocking specialist.
Once his conditioning improves and he gets some much-needed live-fire reps, it's a different story. But for now, the Panthers are right to err on the side of caution until confidence in Tremble's recovery increases.
Ja'Tavion Sanders is the primary pass-catching tight end with legitimate breakout potential in 2025. The Panthers also have rookie Mitchell Evans and James Mitchell capable of picking up the slack. That provides comfort to Canales, but that doesn't detract from the need to get Tremble at 100 percent quickly.
Watching his status on Carolina's injury report will provide a broader indication of Tremble's status. But if the Notre Dame product hits specific targets in the coming days, don't be surprised if he suits up at EverBank Stadium.