Carolina Panthers starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is seemingly on track to make his 2025 regular-season debut on Sunday.
According to ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, Ekwonu is expected to play in tomorrow’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The fourth-year offensive lineman missed Carolina’s Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars after undergoing an emergency appendectomy two weeks prior.
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Ekwonu had been listed as a limited participant in the team’s practices throughout the week. He was designated as questionable for the contest on Friday.
Head coach Dave Canales told reporters that he felt great about Ekwonu’s work in practice going into the weekend.
“We just ramped him up every day and got him a few more reps each time,” he said yesterday. “He finished off a great practice today—but again, we have to just kinda still take this thing a day at a time to see how he wakes up tomorrow after accumulating a couple of days of work.”
Yosh Nijman received the starting nod in place of Ekwonu in last Sunday’s 26-10 defeat. Nijman, per Pro Football Focus, was responsible for six of the Panthers’ 11 allowed pressures on the afternoon.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers LT Ikem Ekwonu expected to play in Week 2, per report