The third media day of the Carolina Panthers OTA practices have come and gone. Here are a few photos and observations from the field.

Center Ryan Kalil received a congratulations on his two year contract extension. Ron Rivera remarked after practice on how important Kalil’s extension it to the continuity of the offense. More should probably be written about Kalil and his positive impact on the team.

As Ted Ginn made his way to the field, he felt like entertaining the runningbacks. I can’t really describe what he was doing (much to the pleasure of Jonathan Stewart), so here, just see for yourself.

Cam Newton is usually one of the last players to the field, but he is always running.

Newton gets limber away from the other players with his dedicated trainer. If you ever hear in the media that Cam is not stretching with his team, this is why. He takes care of it before he even picks up a ball.

Thomas Davis and Mario Addison took the cart to practice. A veteran luxury not afforded to any rookies. It is probably best that they not even ask.

Running Back Brandon Wegher saw an increased number of reps today. Some with the second string and the rest with the third string. Wegher caught the ball nicely out of the backfield and had a few really nice gains. Panthers fans should be excited to see him again this preseason.

With KK Short still absent , Vernon Butler again started at the under tackle position. And once again, he was a monster. On one particular play he was so quickly in the offensive backfield that the play was halted. The entire defense began to whoop and holler as they patted Butler on his helmet. I am looking forward to seeing him with pads on.

The offensive line worked on run blocking quite a bit today. “Defenders” stand with a cushion as the offensive line move him out of position. Trai Turner looked especially good at this drill, always moving his man back a few yards. How men this large practice this intensely in the heat I will never know.

More photos and observations on page 2.