A quad strain has prevented Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker from taking the field in his second NFL season. It appears Coker’s 2025 debut is nearing, though, as the Panthers opened his practice window on Wednesday, Joe Person of The Athletic reports. He’ll likely work with the scout team in his first practice, according to Person. The Panthers will have 21 days to activate Coker from injured reserve.
As an undrafted rookie from Holy Cross, Coker was more productive than expected last year. The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder started in four of 11 games and hauled in 32 of 46 targets for 478 yards (14.9 YPC) and a pair of touchdowns. Coker impressed the Panthers so much that it helped lead them to trade slot receiver Adam Thielen to the Vikings in late August.
A day after the Panthers dealt Thielen, Coker suffered his injury. Had Coker stayed healthy, general manager Dan Morgan said he would have taken Thielen’s place as Carolina’s top choice in the slot. Once those plans were dashed, the team re-signed veteran Hunter Renfrow after releasing him during final roster cuts.
Renfrow caught just one pass for 7 yards as the Panthers beat the Dolphins to improve to 2-3 last week. While he does have two TDs this season, Renfrow has averaged a meager 5.9 yards on 14 receptions. Rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, a first-round pick last spring, served as quarterback Bryce Young‘s No. 1 target during a six-catch, 73-yard afternoon against the Dolphins. McMillan has turned heads during his first NFL action, but the Panthers are otherwise lacking weapons in the passing game. Xavier Legette, who was a rookie alongside Coker in 2024, has only pulled in six of 18 targets for 39 yards in three games.
When Coker returns, it will likely impact the playing time of Renfrow, Jimmy Horn, and Brycen Tremayne, Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer writes. Horn, a sixth-round rookie from Colorado, made his debut last week and caught two of three targets for 21 yards. Tremayne, a second-year man who’s in his first season with the Panthers, has picked up nine receptions for 108 yards in five games.