Mike Williams (WR)- does not practice Tuesday: Williams suffered a toe injury Monday. As a result, he's unlikely to play in Thursday's preseason opener. The severity of Williams' injury has not been made clear, but hopefully it is just be a precautionary move to back off of him for a few days with limited snaps he'd see in the first preseason game anyway. Williams should have a more complimentary role in 2011 with the addition of Sydney Rice.
Steve Smith (WR)- finger cut, not broken: Panthers head coach Ron Rivera confirmed on Tuesday that Smith did not break his finger during practice earlier in the day. He required stitches for a cut at the base of the finger, but it sounds like he'll be fine in about a week-and-a-half and be at or near 100 percent by the time Week 1 rolls around. Even if Smith is 100|PERCENT|, it's doubtful the Panthers' passing game will be strong enough to support him getting consistent fantasy-worthy numbers in 2011.
Malcom Floyd (WR)- misses practice Tuesday for birth of child: This is just an FYI in case there was any concern about his absence, as he's should return in the coming days. Congrats to Floyd and his wife on their addition to the family.
Ryan Mathews (RB)- back at practiceTuesday night: The lean Monday was that Mathews might be held out of the Chargers' preseason opener Thursday night. While he should be healthy in time for Week 1, the recent word from head coach Norv Turner regarding plans to rotate Mathews and Mike Tolbert certainly put a damper on the early-season upside of the second-year back but it makes some sense given Mathews injury problems last season as well as so far in this year's training camp.
Mike Tolbert (FB)- looks to be part of a time-share: In a bit of a departure from his typical approach, head coach Norv Turner appears ready to adopt more a two-back system in San Diego with Tolbert and Ryan Mathews sharing duties. "I don't know if (Mathews) will be one of the leading rushers because I think the emergence of Tolbert gives us a chance to have a one-two punch," Turner said. "Tolbert gives us a nice changeup. Obviously he's a physical, hard-to-tackle, punishing runner and Ryan has great speed, so it's a good situation." Mathews and Tolbert combined for 18 rushing touchdowns in 2010 and became the first duo in Chargers history with at least seven scores in the same season, but that was mostly out of necessity as Mathews was injured for a good portion of the year. This year seems like it will be more by design than necessity. We will watch and see how each back is used in camp, but this is obviously pretty big news assuming this two-back system sticks.
Visanthe Shiancoe (TE)- misses Tuesday's practice: This is probably minor, but check to make sure it's not an injury that lingers during training camp. Shiancoe will look to bounce back with better numbers in 2011, but to do that he will need to stay healthy and fend off stud rookie TE Kyle Rudolph.
Marques Colston (WR)- does not practice for the fifth day in a row Tuesday: Colston's knee injury is not believed to be serious, but it is "not as minor as originally described." Colston's knees are more of a concern than ever heading into this year, but he has reportedly looked sharp when he has been on the field.
Rob Gronkowski (TE)- does not practice Tuesday: It's still not known what Gronkowski is dealing with. There is no indication, however, that it's believed to be anything especially significant.