Panthers hope Lewis gives spark to special teams

Dante Wesley labored under the radar for nearly a decade in the NFL - until becoming the villain of the week for his vicious way-too-early hit on Tampa Bay punt returner Clifton Smith. Now with Wesley suspended for Carolina's game against Buffalo Sunday, the Panthers are scrambling to replace their gunner and one of the few experienced players they have on the league's worst special teams coverage unit. "It's hard to replace anybody," coach John Fox said Thursday. "You've got to train him. In this case it's a new player." Wesley hadn't even been officially suspended by the league Monday when Keith Lewis woke up at 10 a.m. after oversleeping to a text message from his agent that he needed to be on a 12:30 p.m. flight to Charlotte for a tryout the next day. Lewis, who had been cut by Arizona before the start of the season, ended up being the Panthers' choice to fill Wesley's roster spot for the week after Wednesday's practice. He was on the field on Thursday, hoping he'll be the gunner - or the first player down the field on the kickoff and punt coverage units - when the Panthers shoot for their third straight victory Sunday. "I don't know who's up or who's down right now," said Lewis, who was mostly a special teams player in the past five years with San Francisco. "I'm just going along with it right now. That's pretty much what I've been doing the whole time since I got here." Wesley's loss is a blow for Carolina, which ranks last in the NFL in punt both punt and kickoff coverage. The Panthers are giving up a whopping 32.7 yards per kickoff return, including a touchdown, and 17.3 yards per punt return, including a score. After Wesley was ejected for launching himself into Smith on Sunday, the Panthers gave up a 97-yard kickoff return as the Buccaneers rallied from a 21-7 deficit before Carolina's pulled out a 28-21 win. "People talked about the kickoff return, different guys had to shuffle during the game," Fox said. "It was a game adjustment and we didn't fit it as cleanly as we did in the other kickoffs prior to that. But that's part of the game. Guys get hurt, your guys get whatever, and the replacements have to be ready." The Panthers had to replace several spots on special teams with younger players in the offseason because of their tight salary-cap situation. Wesley, who ranks in the top 10 in franchise history with 47 special teams tackles, was one of the few veteran holdovers. Wesley had a key fumble recovery on a muffed punt that set up Carolina's winning score a week earlier in a win over Washington. But Wesley is paying the price this week after badly mistiming a hit on Smith, who sustained a concussion as he stood defenseless waiting to field a punt. "There have been times when I hit a returner early. It's so hard to time up the ball," Lewis said. "It's definitely possible, as going as fast as we going down the field, he was hauling." Lewis is hoping this won't be a one-week job until Wesley returns. As poorly as Carolina has been on special teams, he probably has a chance to stick around if he can make a few plays against the Bills. And the kickoff coverage unit could be under more stress if Rhys Lloyd (ankle) doesn't kick off. Placekicker John Kasay sends kickoffs much shorter. "When I signed my contract I didn't sign a one-week deal. I signed it for the end of the season," the 28-year-old Lewis said. "That's how I look at it. I've got to go out there and do my job and that's what I signed up to do. "There are a lot of ups and downs on special teams. Who knows if I'm the missing piece. Nobody knows that until everybody plays together." NOTES: OLB and leading tackler Thomas Davis (hamstring) missed practice after participating Wednesday. Fox didn't elaborate on his condition. ... RB Jonathan Stewart (Achilles' tendon), LB Na'il Diggs (rib) and FB Brad Hoover (back) practiced after sitting out Wednesday. ... While Carolina's two-headed rushing attack of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart shined against Tampa Bay, the Bills also feature two quality backs in Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. "The trend in the league today is having more than one back," Fox said. "Most everybody has a pretty good 1-2 punch and these guys are no different."