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closeCHARLOTTE — Irony lives in the Carolina Panthers locker room.
That’s because recovering wide receiver Ryne Robinson got the best advice he could from the guy who was on the other end of his training camp injury, and he’s only now starting to feel back to normal.
“Any time you have a setback like we had on July 31, it’s devastating, especially for my confidence,” Robinson said. “I thought I was ready to go for the season and everything was moving along, and we had a setback. Just glad to be back now and be able to do some stuff.”
Robinson practiced Thursday, for the first time since his July 31 injury. He suffered a sprained posterior collateral and lateral collateral ligament in his left knee when he was hit by safety Nate Salley during practice at Wofford College. He thought it was going to be a two-week injury, but it has dragged on, just as Salley’s did a year ago.
Salley eventually landed on injured reserve last season after spraining his PCL and LCL in camp. He tried coming back at the start of the regular season, but when the knee didn’t respond they shut him down for the year. Robinson said Salley was careful to tell him not to repeat his mistakes.
“That’s exactly what it was,” Robinson said when asked if Salley was there to warn caution. “With Nate’s injury, it was more him trying to push it, and he pushed it too early and that gave him his setback for the year. They didn’t want to let it linger around and let him do too much on it.
“With this, we took our time and did what we thought was right. He (Salley) was there telling me ‘What do you feel?’ He could relate to it.”
Of course, just because he’s feeling better doesn’t mean he’s ready to play. He’s likely going to have to demonstrate he’s clearly ahead of punt returner Mark Jones before they activate him, since there’s not another decent option for that job on the roster. The Panthers only keep three non-special teams receivers active on game days, so Robinson’s going to have to win his old job back to get a uniform.
Jones is averaging a perfectly acceptable 10.0 yards per punt return this year, with a long of 31. Robinson averaged 8.7 last year, with a long of 34. Robinson’s advantage might be his kickoff return ability, since it’s unclear how long they’re going to let running back Jonathan Stewart do that.
When asked if he thought he’d be active this week, Robinson shrugged, knowing the decision will be made by coach John Fox and the training staff. “I feel like I’m there,” he said. “I feel like I can go this week.”
MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Left guard Travelle Wharton practiced again Thursday, and said he was set to go this weekend against Atlanta provided there were “no setbacks.”
Wharton suffered a sprained right medial collateral ligament in the opener at San Diego, and missed the last two games. He said he was fearful for a moment there, having flashbacks to 2006, when he was lost for the season in the opener when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
“Yeah, first game of the year, you work so hard to get into the football season, and when you feel the knee pain, it’s like, ‘Oh, I hope it’s not bad,” Wharton said. “As time went on it’s not as serious as the one before, so that was a relief.”
Now, as a precaution, he’ll have a matched pair of protective devices covering his knees.
“Yeah, I’m double bracing it from here on out,” Wharton said with a laugh. “You know, the braces are comfortable after you start wearing them. This one (on his left) is all right. Just got to get comfortable with the other one now.”
NO PLACE TO PUT HIM: Just as Robinson’s waiting to find out, receiver Dwayne Jarrett’s once again looking for a spot to play after being declared inactive last week. As long as they keep four wideouts up on the 45-man game-day roster, that will likely continue to be the case.
“It’s not a disappointment but I would like to be out there,” Jarrett said. “I have been doing well from camp to now, so all I have to do is try to get better and make sure I have my assignments down.
“I’m trying to go out there and play hard and if I get my opportunity I have to make the best of it. ... You really can’t control it. It’s a numbers game and you have to roll with the punches and keep working hard.”
EXTRA POINTS: Other than broken-legged third quarterback Matt Moore, everyone practiced Thursday, a rare stroke of good fortune.
Stewart (foot) and defensive end Julius Peppers (illness) were limited, but otherwise the other eight names on the injury report all practiced fully: Robinson (knee), tackles Jordan Gross (ankle) and Wharton (knee), defensive ends Tyler Brayton (ankle) and Charles Johnson (thigh), linebackers Thomas Davis (ankle) and Na’il Diggs (shoulder) and Chris Harris (knee).
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