For the most part, the Carolina Panthers came out of Week 1 fairly healthy. However, as always, there are a few guys that came away with some nicks and bruises. Unfortunately, the Panthers did have one injury that could affect their special teams unit moving forward.
"We've got some guys banged up," head coach Matt Rhule said Monday afternoon. "Andre Roberts, his knee could be an issue. Waiting to hear back. A lot of guys were banged up in the game but were able to return. I think we should be pretty healthy for next week."
When asked if the veteran receiver would be able to play in this week's game against the New York Giants, Rhule didn't seem very optimistic.
"I would err on the side of I'm discouraged that we would have Andre, but I don't have full confirmation yet so I don't want to say anything until I know. He finished the game for us which I appreciate, but that knee was banged up."
If Roberts is unable to go, Rhule says the plan would be for fellow receiver Shi Smith to fill in on kick and punt return. He also mentioned that Chuba Hubbard would be in the mix to return kicks as well.
Roberts has been dealing with that knee injury since preseason play which is one reason why Smith saw a lot of in-game reps.
"He's caught punts in all of the preseason games," Rhule said. "He had a good kickoff return against Washington. I trust him as a kick returner and he's developing as a punt returner. He's still becoming more comfortable catching [punts] and I think that's something you can only do live. That's why the preseason games have been so good for him. That's why we've given him so many punt catches because we want him to get those reps."
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