CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Dave Canales expressed nothing but respect for the way veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow worked during his comeback attempt, and said the team still has "a couple of things on the table" for the former Clemson star.

The 29-year-old Renfrow was released Tuesday and was not a part of their moves on Wednesday to fill roster spots or the practice squad.

But Canales said he wanted to stay in touch with Renfrow as he considered his future steps.

"He's talking to his family, he's talking to his agent," Canales said. "We're just going to keep taking it kind of one day at a time and see where he's at. I just felt like towards the end, like the last stretch of what I saw, I want to be able to count on Hunter to be as good as he was the whole time. And I just saw some peaks and then I just saw some dips also in terms of his performance, and I just felt like, in fairness to the whole group, in fairness to the team, I wanted to make sure that he knew I wanted to be a part of your future.

"I don't think right now is the time initially for this team, and so he just kind of said, you know, I have to think about what I want to do, and so we're in communication right now, we're going to kind of take it day by day and see what we're at."

Renfrow signed with the Panthers this offseason in a bid to return to the league after missing last season.

He battled ulcerative colitis during the latter part of his stint with the Raiders.

After getting healthy, he looked good early in camp, drawing rave reviews. But he was slowed recently by a hamstring strain before returning for the preseason finale.

Canales was asked if any of the options the team presented to Renfrow were in a non-playing capacity and said, "Could be." But the conversation seemed to center on a return to the roster at some point or the practice squad.

"We're just talking about everything right now," Canales said. "I just want to be a part of his future, of what he wants to do. I just told him that, like in whatever capacity that is, whether it's the 53 or practice squad, that was just kind of the conversations.

"I'm just talking about wanting to be a part of him, like the guy that I remember. And I think that he's on his way back there, and I truly believe that, and I believe in him as a guy. I had such a blast working with him in this short amount of time, but I'd love to see him back out there at some point, and so it's just a matter of us continuing to stay in touch and see where we're at."

Kicking situation still far from settled

After releasing veteran kicker Matt Wright on Tuesday, the only kicker on the roster is rookie Ryan Fitzgerald.

Asked about his status on Wednesday, Canales offered a sort-of endorsement.

"He's our kicker right now," Canales said. "But again, we're going to take this thing week to week and look, see how he's doing, and kind of just continue to look at what's out there, and we'll make the right decisions for the Panthers as we go along.

"I would say the same thing for any other kicker that was here. This is a performance-type league; there are so many guys out there who want these jobs. There's more kickers than there are spots on the 32 teams. So, again, it's that competition, and this is a good moment for him to take advantage of this opportunity."

Other injury updates, including Nic Scourton cleared

Rookie outside linebacker Nic Scourton was back on the practice field Wednesday, after suffering a collapsed lung following the joint workout in Houston.

Canales said Scourton took about half his normal amount of reps, and they wanted to consult with vice president of player health and performance Denny Kellington to see how Scourton recovered to determine next steps.

"He handled it well," Canales said. "I'll follow back up with Denny and see how he comes out just following the practice, but he looked good. He was out there running around."

Tight end Tommy Tremble also practiced Wednesday without the red no-contact jersey he was wearing Tuesday.

Left guard Damien Lewis was still wearing his red jersey as he recovers from a early-camp shoulder injury. Canales has said the hope is that he's ready to play in Jacksonville.

Canales discussed reported practice squad moves

According to multiple reports, the Panthers are bringing in former Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker to their practice squad, along with former Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas, who was released by the Cardinals this week.

Those deals aren't official yet, but Canales called Dallas "a high-character guy, a great teammate, a jack of all trades" who could play multiple roles on special teams.

Hooker, a former third-round pick out of Tennessee, would give them a third quarterback for practice after they let Jack Plummer and Bryce Perkins go on Monday. Lions coach Dan Campbell recently alluded to Hooker needing a change of scenery.

"Hendon Hooker is a guy that I loved in the process coming out of Tennessee, I had some great meetings with him," Canales said. "He really impressed me as a man, and a really high character guy with a lot of talent. A beautiful motion, big strapping guy who can run. . . .

"I am very grateful that we get a player who's had professional training for a while now with certain protections and run game alerts and a lot of the different things that the offense that Detroit was able to build that I really admire, and to be able to bring a guy in who's had exposure. The talent and the character that I'm excited about, I'm glad he's going to be here."