The Carolina Panthers practiced without two starting wide receivers on Thursday as Adam Thielen joined DJ Chark Jr. on the sideline.
Chark has been out with a hamstring injury, while Thielen was limited at Wednesday’s practice due to an ankle injury and was held out completely on Thursday.
The Panthers, who open their season at the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, also listed Terrace Marshall Jr. (back) as limited. Fellow wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) was a full participant on Thursday.
Only two receivers on the active roster have not been on the injury report this week: Laviska Shenault Jr. and rookie Jonathan Mingo. Receivers Derek Wright and Dezmon Patmon are on the practice squad.
At other positions, safety Sam Franklin Jr. (knee) was listed as a limited participant for the second consecutive day. Defensive lineman DeShawn Williams (illness) returned to the field Thursday after missing Wednesday’s practice.
Thielen, 33, is in his first season with the Panthers after playing with the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-22. The two-time Pro Bowl selection (2017-18) has 534 receptions for 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns in 135 games (101 starts).
In 2022, Thielen started all 17 games and finished with 70 catches, 716 yards and six TDs.
After working his way up from an undrafted free agent to a practice squad player to a starter, Thielen was released by the Vikings on March 10 in a cost-cutting move. He had signed a four-year, $64 million extension in April 2019, and the sides agreed to restructure the deal in 2021 and 2022. Minnesota saved $6.4 million against the 2023 salary cap while taking a dead-cap hit of $13.6 million.
Carolina signed him to a three-year contract the same month.
The Panthers needed to add an experienced receiver after trading their former No. 1 wideout, D.J. Moore, to the Chicago Bears this month in the deal for the No. 1 overall draft pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
–Field Level Media