CHARLOTTE — Seeing an offense come back the way the Panthers did Sunday had lots of people excited.

But that was just one of the reasons wide receiver Jalen Coker had a smile on his face.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Monday they'd open Coker's 21-day window to practice on Wednesday, the first step to getting the second-year receiver back among the offense.

"I'm excited to get back out there and just play," Coker said in the locker room.

And they're eager to see how Coker adds to the young mix at wide receiver, after his 32-catch, 478-yard rookie season.

"We're going to throw some (work)loads at him and kind of increase it each day to see where he's at," Canales said. "We'll make the best decision for Jalen, make the best decision for the team as we go forward through this week."

He said he wouldn't know how close Coker was to returning to the field until he saw him for several days in a row.

"They're doing a great job with him," Canales said of the team's athletic training and performance staff. "Monitoring his progress, his top speeds, his endurance, just general physical conditioning for football. But now you've got to go play football to be able to prove that we can bring him up."

That was music of Coker's ears on Monday, because he admitted this has been a difficult stretch for him personally.

The quadriceps strain that landed him on IR came the day after the trade that sent wide receiver Adam Thielen back to Minnesota, and Coker's progress through camp was part of the reason they felt good about making that move.

So to pull the quad the very next day in practice meant that he saw the goal, and had it snatched away before he could grab it.

"It was sad, obviously, to see Adam go, but then to be able to step into that role and then to get injured and then to have that kind of taken away," Coker said. "It was back-to-back days, and it was upsetting.

"But you've just got to roll with the punches."

Then, he had to stand on the sidelines and watch an up-and-down first month of the season, which included some sluggish games and a few breakout performances along the way.

The fact that he couldn't contribute was a lot for him to process, coming along with the poorly-timed injury.

"It's been upsetting for me personally," he said. "I want to be out there, contributing and stuff. But just finding other ways to impact the team, trying to be more of a leader, trying to be more of a voice in the room, keep everyone up, you know, and just cheer the guys on that are out there playing."

Once he returns, he'll be part of a young core that features second-year wideout Xavier Legette, plus rookies Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr., along with Brycen Tremayne and veteran Hunter Renfrow.

With Legette in particular, their shared timelines were a backdrop for watching his classmate have a slow first month of the season, before he caught the touchdown pass that sparked the comeback.

"I mean, he's just kind of going against all the adversity," Coker said. "And I think to see him continue to work and to see him continue to go out and practice every day and not complain, not do anything like that and just continue to stay the grind and then go out there on Sunday and make a play, I'm really happy for him."

He's also relieved to be out there himself again, after five weeks of working on the side.

The team has three weeks for him to practice, and they'll have to find a roster spot when he's ready to return. But figuring out transactions and the rotations that might follow are secondary to the simple act of getting back on the field, and you could tell how eager Coker was to do that.

"I've been feeling really good," he said. "I mean, I don't think you really know until you go out there and practice, so I think that's what this week is going to be just kind of get my lungs back. I feel good, though, so I'm not going to be surprised if I continue to feel good."