Ahead of Thursday night’s season opener in Denver, the Carolina Panthers have released their first official injury report.
The Panthers released the official injury report for their Week 1 matchup with the Denver Broncos on Thurday.
Aug 5, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers free safety Dean Marlowe (29) during FanFest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The report lists safety Dean Marlowe as doubtful with a hamstring injury and has linebacker A.J. Klein (back) and rookie defensive tackle Vernon Butler (hand) listed as questionable.
After practices this week and the activity that each of these players was able to do, it would appear that Klein and Butler would be good to go whereas Marlowe is unlikely to be active come Thursday night.
The second-year safety has been dealing with a hamstring issue for much of the preseason and training camp and while he made strides this week, he has yet to be full go in practice and thus will likely remain out this week. Head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the media about what would happen should Marlowe miss this week and he said the team would bring up practice squad safety Marcus Ball as the emergency option.
Klein and Butler’s issues are much less severe and had the NFL not done away with the “Probable” designation on injury reports this season, the two would likely be listed as such.
Klein has dealt with his back issues over recent weeks but they are nothing more than a nagging inconvenience. The rookie defensive tackle dislocated his finger at practice on Monday but participated fully for the rest of the week and will also be ready to roll.
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