With Jason Carter injuring his knee in Saturday’s game against the Washington Redskins, Ryne Robsinon and D. J. Hackett still out with injuries, and Steve Smith suspended for the first two games, concern is sprouting about how weak the Panthers look at wide receiver for the first to games. I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about.

Yes, the loss of Carter has drained the Panther’s wide receiving corps, but we’re talking about a guy who could have not even made the final roster. Although Ryne Robinson doesn’t look like he’ll be ready to go by opening day, I expect D. J. Hackett to be back. Yeah, he was supposed to return Monday, and it seems he’s never been healthy in his life, but two more weeks should give Hackett enough of a chance to heal that toe up, and even if he’s not 100% he will still be a valuable asset without Smith.

The fact that Hackett hasn’t been able to work with Delhomme much isn’t much of a concern either because Hackett is a veteran player and should be able to perform even without practicing much of camp. He could just be pulling a T.O., not practicing during training camp because of an “injury”, and then magically being ready to go by opening kickoff.

With the way Daunte Rosario played Saturday, he may end up being a viable deep threat for Carolina in Smitty’s absence, averaging 18 yards on 6 receptions last season. With all of the weapons Carolina has added, the offense should be productive during the first two games, especially with the way the offensive line has been opening up holes for Williams and Stewart. Even if the Panthers go 1-1 they’re still in good shape to make a run at the division title.

It will be interesting to see who returns kicks, with Ryne Robinson out for the first week at least. Ricardo Colclough did get some reps in during the last three games, so his play this Saturday will most likely determine if he get’s the job. There is Chris Gamble, who’s returned punts before, but I refuse to trust Gamble with any kind of return after that horrible pass play he tried on a punt return two years ago against the Vikings that cost Carolina the game. Jonathan Stewart could also return some punts as well, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to have your number one draft choice returning kicks because of the injury risk.

We’ll see how things look next week, but I don’t think it’s panic time just yet, once we know the injury situation it will be easier to see what needs to happen at the positon.

Tags: jason carter, panthers, robinson