CHARLOTTE — Devin Lloyd won't be able to defend his NFC defensive player of the week award, but the Panthers do have a better grade of options in place to help overcome the absence.

The Panthers linebacker Lloyd was among three players ruled out for Sunday's game at Cleveland, after he missed the entire week of practice because of a calf injury.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that they thought they could have gotten something out of Lloyd this week, but it became a question of how he'd handle the fatigue that came with a long game like the Panthers have played through two weeks.

"It just didn't get to a place where we felt confident he can go out there and play four quarters, and that was the decision," Canales said. "Could he go out there and do something and we'd have to spell him and play other people potentially? But we just didn't feel like the nature of a calf injury, of course, is a fatigue type of injury, and so picturing a full four quarters, it was hard to, with Devin.

"He gave it his best shot. We got him out there and ran him a little bit even today, just to see where he's at, but it was in our mind, you know, the best decision for Devin was to give it a week, revisit it next week and see if we can build him back up to that capacity."

The good news is, the Panthers have guys on hand who can step in and bring starting experience.

Bobby Okereke, who started next to Lloyd last week, will have the green dot this week and will call the signals. He has 96 career starts, and he'll be next to a guy in Tyrel Dodson, who has 43.

And while they'll obviously miss Lloyd, Okereke called signals for the Giants the last three years, which gives him a voice of authority.

"Absolutely; there's a level of comfort to it," Canales said. "You're not just regurgitating what the defensive coordinator sent in. There's also a gamesmanship, a leadership piece to that as well, similar to being a quarterback. When you come into the huddle, you're not just telling the play, you're selling the play. . . .

"There's an energy that you bring in there, and the guys feed off that."

Complicated situation at wide receiver

Canales said he hoped Jalen Coker (ankle) would be good to go by Sunday, but the decision on Xavier Legette (knee) is more complicated and will go up to 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday.

Both were limited participants Friday after being held out Thursday, and Legette is the less likely of the two, with the issue popping up after his 55-yard reception last week that Canales called the "tipping point" of the win over the Falcons.

"He caught the ball, had to turn around, kind of came down hard on it, popped up ready to get more yards and score," Canales said of Legette. "But (the issue) presented itself after the game, a lot of soreness. He was able to finish, and then it just got kind of progressively worse, and then we started treating him.

"He went out there and practiced on Wednesday. We had to take care of him a little bit on Thursday, so today he was able to get out there and do some stuff. So, you know, we're going to just see how it presents again after a full week of practice to see where he's at."

That's going to lead to some tough decisions this weekend, when it comes to who they'd call up from the practice squad and whether they might have to make a move with the 53-man roster.

They only have five receivers on the 53 at the moment, and Canales said he wouldn't want to go into a game with just four, which could create an opening for elevating either David Moore or Ihmir Smith-Marsette from the practice squad.

But they also have just two healthy running backs, and Canales said early in the week they wanted to elevate Anthony Tyus III from the practice squad for depth. But they're also down to three healthy linebackers, and they just brought known commodity Maema Njongmeta back to the practice squad this week.

Waller Wednesday will be the plan moving forward

Being ready for Sunday often requires load management during the week. Veteran tight end Darren Waller has been playing football for a long time; he knows what he needs to do to feel prepared for the game.

And as he gets older (Waller turned 34 earlier this month), plus comes back from a string of small injuries that built up last season with the Dolphins, the week of preparation becomes just as much about resting his body as it does working out his mind.

As such, the Panthers have given Waller vet days on Wednesday for the past couple of weeks. Given his performance thus far with five catches for 61 yards — all of which have gone for first downs or touchdowns — and two scores through two games, the balance seems to be working.

So, Canales told reporters on Friday that this will continue to be Waller's schedule moving forward.

"That's going to be the rhythm," the coach confirmed. "It's a part of the recovery process. We had some communications with other staffs over the years that have had Darren and what worked best for his body.

"The other part is, while he is a part of our first and second-down runs and play-action marriage, it's really a premium to get those full-speed reps on Thursday where you have a mix of first and second down, third down, and a tiny bit of red zone. So making sure he's available for those high-yield opportunities right there."

Young safeties stepping in for Scott

Nick Scott has been an Ironman for the Panthers when it comes to playing time. He was on the field for 98 percent of the defensive snaps last season and was the play caller for the secondary. And in the Panthers Week 1 game this season, he logged 96 percent of the total defensive snaps.

But a rib injury in the first quarter of Week 2 meant Carolina lost their veteran presence in the back end and depended on a rookie, Zakee Wheatley, and a second-year guy, Lathan Ransom, to step up in Scott's place.

The two performed, with Wheatley registering four tackles (plus the forced fumble on the first play of the game) and Ransom notching four tackles of his own. Now, with Scott out at least another week, Carolina is turning to the two young, hard-hitting safeties once again.

"The challenge for the guys is that when they're not getting the lion's share of the reps throughout a week, that you're able to put your mind in there as if these are your reps," said Canales about how the two have prepared even before Scott's injury.

"So all of a sudden, Lathan, Zig, those guys getting those meaningful reps in practice, I mean, the urgency is, it's a high pitch. They want to do well for their teammates, they want to do well for their team, and, so while we should all be working and studying, we try to challenge guys; you never know. All of a sudden, you're up.

"For the most part, guys approach that, but it is different when you get out there, and you're able to communicate and talk and just have those reps, and that's what happened this week."

The exact timeline for Scott's return is unknown at this time, but Canales said it's more about his ability to rotate than the pain itself.

"It's a rib, so I think ribs turn around pretty quickly," Canales said. "It's really more about that rotational movement part of it. The pain is the pain; this isn't something that's just going to heal up immediately. But, it's just about him being able to move laterally and contort his body because all your muscles are kind of tied into that area. So, we didn't feel like we could get him turned around quickly enough this week."