The Panthers expect to activate DE Charles Johnson from short-term IR Tuesday and have him available for Thursday's game at Dallas. The team's top pass rusher has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. "I’m coming in humble," Johnson said, according to the team website. "We have a lot of talent on our D-line and I’m just trying to be another piece of that. I’m not coming in with the attitude to try and go crazy. I’m going to work my way back into it, work my way back to where I want to be. Whatever my role is I am going to max it out." We can't expect a full workload right away, which obviously limits the upside for Johnson as a Week 12 IDP option. We'll keep an eye on his snap counts, though, and see if he can return to full-time use down the stretch. Carolina's position strongly atop the NFC in the playoff race might make it easier for the team to ease him back and have him fresh for the postseason -- which would be bad news for his IDP value. His return in any capacity can only help the Panthers' team D, though.
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