Starters Maake Kemoeatu (ankle) and Damione Lewis (shoulder) are trying to recover from injuries suffered in recent weeks, and a top reserve, Gary Gibson, was put on injured reserve this week.

That leaves only veteran Darwin Walker, plus two unproven, inexperienced players -- Nick Hayden and J'Vonne Parker. Hayden was on the Panthers' practice squad all season until last week, and Parker was signed from the Atlanta Falcons' practice squad.

Though New Orleans relies mostly on its passing game and will be without running backs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAlister becaues of injuries, the Saints still have up-and-coming running back Pierre Thomas.

"You'd prefer to have your starters in there," Panthers coach John Fox said. "Unfortunately, that's not always the case."

Fox said, however, that Carolina wouldn't necessarily change the way it plays defenses if one or both starters are out.

"You can't re-do everything you've done all season," he said. "You can't reinvent the wheel in a week. It doesn't necessarily change so much what you do as it [is a matter of] training guys to do what you do."

Kemoeatu practiced on a limited basis Thursday after saying Wednesday that he hopes to play.

Lewis missed practice for the second consecutive day after questioning whether he'll be able to play.

CHRISTMAS HOURS: The Panthers had an abbreviated day Thursday because it was Christmas Day.

They were permitted to report to the stadium at 9:20 a.m., at least two hours later than usual. However, their practice lasted about two hours.

HOPING FOR REMATCH: Some Panthers players, including running back DeAngelo Williams, said this week that they're hoping for a rematch against the New York Giants after this past Sunday's 34-28 overtime loss at Giants Stadium.

"The loss to New York motivated me," Williams said. "Hopefully, we play them again."

If a rematch happens, it will be at Giants Stadium again in the playoffs, possibly in the NFC championship game.

New York gained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with its dramatic come-from-behind win over Carolina.

"It [was] one of those games where it was just a heavyweight fight and both guys go in their corner and [are] like, 'Whew!' " Panthers linebacker Na'il Diggs said. "But somebody's got to win.

"They obviously won the game, but I'm not so sure that they don't want to see us either down the road."

SITTING OUT: In addition to Lewis, players who didn't participate in practice Thursday were tight end Dante Rosario (illness) and wide receiver Kenny Moore (hamstring).

- Tight end Jeff King (knee) practiced on a limited basis after missing practice Wednesday.

- Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad returned to full participation after sitting out Wednesday.