Mike Minter's Retirement Could Come Sooner Rather Than Later

It seems that the Chris Harris trade may not have been motivated by Nate Salley's knee injury, which most press outlets still describe as a minor injury. According to both Pat Yaskinas of the Charlotte Observer and Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com, Mike Minter's final season may be over before it begins.

Ten-year veteran safety Mike Minter, who had already announced that the 2007 campaign would be his last, acknowledged Friday afternoon that he might retire before the start of the season. The all-time franchise leader in terms of starts (141) and consecutive starts (94), Minter is having knee problems and has missed several practices in training camp.

"Can I still do it at a level that's acceptable to me?" said Minter, who has been limited to just one practice session per day. "I have to go through camp to find that out. We'll just have to see how the knees [respond]. I don't know yet."

If those knees don't respond well, the longtime Carolina Panther safety could decide to call it a career and move on. Good thing Carolina got Chris Harris, then, because rookie C.J. Wilson reportedly isn't looking too good out there.

Minter isn't the only player missing practice right now. Julius Peppers is sitting out with what's being called "an undisclosed illness," prompting speculation that he recently came into contact with someone who just got back from Comic-Con and has contracted a bad case of "San Diego SARS." It's unclear if he'll return to practice in time for tomorrow's Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium, but he's not expected to miss much time.