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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Carolina Panthers added another name to their seemingly never-ending list of players who sustained concussions this season. Safety Kurt Coleman became the seventh Panther to enter the NFL's protocol when he reported concussion-like symptoms after the Sunday loss in Oakland.
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When asked if he had any theories on why so many of his players were concussed this year, coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday at practice at San Jose State, "I couldn't tell you guys; I really can't. I don't understand it, either.
"I'm not sure if it all goes back to the way things are in terms of preparation for the season, starting with ... OTAs, minicamps and the hitting in training camp. Who knows? I really don't. It would be unfair for me to say so."
If Coleman isn't cleared to play Sunday against the Seahawks, Michael Griffin would start alongside Tre Boston.
Colin Jones will be the No. 3 safety, and Rivera said, "One of our corners will take some safety reps this week as well." That likely would be Daryl Worley, who was back there briefly in the Panthers' preseason game at Tennessee.
While Coleman went inside during Wednesday's practice, linebacker Luke Kuechly stayed on the field. Less than two weeks since he sustained a concussion against the Saints, Kuechly remains unlikely to play in Seattle, but that he is on the Panthers' West Coast trip is an encouraging sign.
"(It's) another step in the protocol," Rivera said. "That's all I can tell you about that."
If Coleman and Kuechly don't face the Seahawks, they will join the Panthers' snake-bitten offensive line as spectators in what is becoming an increasingly injury-filled season.
"They're not excuses, no one feels bad, it's just reality. It's just the facts," tight end Greg Olsen said. "Last year, I think other than (center Ryan Kalil missing one game), we pretty much had the whole squad the whole year. It just hasn't worked out that way this year. That's the nature of football.
"I would say this (year) is more typical than last. Last year was kind of an anomaly with being relatively so healthy throughout the season. You look around the league, it's happened to a lot of teams.
"It's just sometimes the luck of the draw."
--A year ago, Tyler Larsen was digging trenches for his father's landscaping company in Utah. Now he is getting ready to start for the defending NFC champs on "Sunday Night Football."
Larsen is next in line at center for the Panthers, who on Tuesday placed Kalil (shoulder) and Gino Gradkowski (knee) on injured reserve. That means quarterback Cam Newton will be taking snaps in Seattle from a guy who not long ago was living with his parents so he and his wife could save money in case football didn't work out.
"It's surreal," Larsen said Wednesday while walking off the Panthers' makeshift practice field at San Jose State. "I'm just happy I have the opportunity, and when I get out there, I'm just going to make the best of it and treat it like any other game."
A starter for a school-record 52 consecutive games at Utah State, Larsen was projected as a mid- or late-round pick in 2014. However, the draft came and went without a team taking the 6-foot-4, 335-pounder, who signed with the Dolphins as a free agent.
Released by Miami in August 2014, Larsen spent the year out of football. For the first time. The second was a year later after the Washington Redskins released him during final cuts. That was when Larsen considered giving up his NFL dream.
But sometime during those days spent doing "crappy jobs guys don't want," Larsen and his wife, Samm, decided he should give it one more shot. The Panthers soon called, offering him a December tryout, which he parlayed into a futures contract and now, his first career NFL start.
--With Kalil and Gradkowski on injured reserve, the Panthers filled the two open roster spots with tackle Dan France and center Ryan Wendell.
France, who spent time on practice squads in Cincinnati and Cleveland, has never appeared in a regular-season NFL game.
Wendell, who started the bulk of 2012-14 in New England, hasn't played in any game -- preseason or regular season -- since midway through last year.
