SAN DIEGO -- Out for more than a month with a knee issue that forced him to miss his team’s past four games, rookie inside linebacker Jatavis Brown was a limited participant in practice all week and is questionable for the San Diego Chargers, who hit the road on Friday and face Carolina on Sunday.
"Any time you get a guy like that back, it gives you another weapon," Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano said. "He’s a playmaking threat and he’s looking good. There’s always a little rust, but you just take it day by day and we’ll see how it goes this week. If he’s available for us this week it would be a huge bonus for us, because he’s a playmaker when he’s out there on the field."
With Brown out, Korey Toomer has done a nice job stepping in to fill the void, leading the Chargers in tackles with 61. However, Pagano said he’d take a healthy Brown as well.
"The more players you have the better you’re going to be," Pagano said. "To be able to do different thing, I think all three of those guys right now (including second-year pro Denzel Perryman) are doing good things. It’s a good, young nucleus between Denzel, Korey, Jatavis and Joshua (Perry).
"It’s a good mix of different guys that you can put in different situations."
For his part, Brown said he’s just pleased to be back out on the field practicing with his teammates.
"It was very important to be out there so coaches can get a gauge of how I practiced," Brown said. "It felt good to be out there."
A surprise name on the injury report was guard Orlando Franklin, whose was not listed all week but was a limited participant on Friday with a knee issue. Franklin hasn’t missed a game all season, but is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest against the Panthers.
If Franklin cannot play, Spencer Pulley is in line to get his first career start. The Chargers have started the same five offensive linemen in nine of 12 games.
Cornerback Brandon Flowers was ruled out for a third straight game after suffering his second concussion of the season against Miami.
Defensive end Joey Bosa (knee), receiver Dontrelle Inman (ankle), safety Dwight Lowery (hand) and receiver Tyrell Williams (shoulder) were full participants all week and are expected to play.
