SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A half-dozen Panthers will start training camp on the team's Physically Unable to Perform list.
Wide receiver Steve Smith (arm) and linebacker Thomas Davis (knee) were injured leading up to training camp, with Smith expected to return before the regular season opener but Davis in danger of missing the entire season.
Running back Jonathan Stewart (ankle) had offseason surgery and missed the team's summer workouts. That's also the case with offensive tackle Jeff Otah (knee) and defensive tackle Louis Leonard (knee), who both ended last season on injured reserve.
In addition, guard Duke Robinson was placed on the PUP list for conditioning reasons. Robinson hopes to compete with Mackenzy Bernadeau and Geoff Schwartz for the starting spot on the right side.
While all of the players on the PUP list can be removed at a moment's notice and resume practice, linebacker Brett Warren wasn't as fortunate. The signing of Jimmy Clausen on Wednesday forced the Panthers to cut one player from the roster on the eve of training camp to get down to 80, and Warren was the odd man out.
Comforts of home: When wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett arrived on the front steps of his dormitory home away from home Wednesday morning, he discovered that a Rent-A-Center truck had just delivered the 40-plus-inch flat-screen television he ordered for the duration of camp.
"These guys do a great job of making us feel at home, but anything else helps out," Jarrett said.
Jarrett, like many of his teammates, also rented a bed to use in the place of the undersized one in the dorm _ an especially undersized one from the perspective of pro athletes.
"That's like your freshman year in college all over again," Jarrett said. "It's something you don't want to get used to, but it's just something you have to do.
"There are reasons for their logic. It's all mental, between the living situation and us being here for camp. It's the hottest place I think in South Carolina from what I've heard. It's definitely mental."
Before joining the Panthers prior to the 2007 season, Jarrett said the last time he lived in a dorm was his freshman year at Southern Cal.
"I like my own personal space," he said. "I don't like sharing; I was an only-child growing up."
Comfortable near home: Rookie Armanti Edwards doesn't feel at home in a dorm either, but he feels at home in Spartanburg.
The quarterback-turned-wideout from Appalachian State grew up in Greenwood, S.C., about a 45-minute drive from Wofford.
"Before the draft, everybody wanted me to come here. Now that I'm here, I've got a lot of people supporting me," Edwards said. "I've had a lot of people texting and calling, asking when practice is open so they can come."
Edwards surely will get plenty of reps at camp, but his goal is to quickly convert those into playing time come game day.
"I'll do anything, whatever is the quickest way to get on the field," Edwards said. "I'm getting comfortable at receiver and at catching punts and a couple of kickoffs."
Ultimate soldiers: Panthers head coach John Fox said he got a lot out of his trip to visit U.S. troops overseas earlier in the month _ nearly more than he had hoped.
On a flight from Germany bound for Afghanistan for the Fourth of July weekend trip, the plane collided with a bird on takeoff and had to make an unscheduled landing.
"A little bit startled," Fox described the episode. "It was an interesting experience, especially being loaded with ammo. It could have been an interesting landing."
Fox quickly realized, however, that it was a small bump in the road compared to what the troops that he visited have endured.
"The sacrifice and commitment they make is probably second to none," he said. "It was inspiring.
"They're amazing."
Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid joined Fox on the NFL-USO Coaches Tour.
