Palmer was an undrafted free agent in 2007 out of Auburn and spent time with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Oakland last season. He gives the team another body for practice. Gross (concussion) could miss Sunday's game with Kansas City, and Otah (sprained ankle) is up in the air.

PLAYER NOTES

--QB Matt Moore will be out again this week.

--RB Jonathan Stewart could be lined up for a big week as the Panthers face the Chiefs, who have the league's 30th-ranked run defense and have allowed six rushing TDs.

--WR Ryne Robinson was limited in practice on Thursday, which likely means another week on the inactive list.

--OT Jeff Otah (ankle) sat out Thursday's practice.

--OT Jordan Gross (concussion) sat out Thursday's practice.

--CB Ken Lucas returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis.

--WR Dwayne Jarrett, a former second-round draft pick, has been inactive since the return of Steve Smith in Week 3. The Panthers remain high on Jarrett but he's caught up in a numbers game.

--TE Donte Rosario leads the team with five false start penalties.

GAME PLAN: With the Chiefs struggling to stop the run, look for the Panthers to pound the ball at them all game with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams leading the way. Kansas City is allowing 176.5 yards per game on the ground and has surrendered six rushing touchdowns. By running the football, that will also open up Steve Smith for a potential offensive explosion for the Panthers. Defensively, the Panthers won't pressure Damon Huard as much as you might think, instead using their resources to stop Larry Johnson. If the Panthers get an early lead then look for them to pin their ears back and go.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Panthers RBs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams vs. Chiefs front seven -- The Panthers haven't had a 100-yard rusher this season with Stewart and Williams splitting carries, but it could happen this week. The Chiefs are allowing 176.5 yards per game on the ground and have allowed six rushing touchdowns in four weeks. Look for Stewart, who has all four of Carolina's rushing touchdowns, to find the end zone at least once this week against a suspect rushing defense.

Panthers MLB Jon Beason vs. Chiefs RB Larry Johnson: Carolina held four of the league's top backs -- LaDainian Tomlinson, Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner -- under 100 yards and out of the end zone in the first four games. This week they get another stiff test in Johnson, who ran for 198 and two touchdowns last week vs. Denver.

DE Julius Peppers vs. Chiefs QB Damon Huard: Peppers has registered a sack in back-to-back weeks coming into this game and faces a Kansas City team that has already surrendered 12 on the season. Peppers should be able to keep his streak alive.

INJURY IMPACT:

There's a growing possibility the Carolina Panthers will be without both starting tackles this week when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at Bank of America.

Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah sat out a second straight day of practice on Thursday.

Although coach John Fox wouldn't rule them out -- he said they're "day-to-day" -- it appears the Panthers are clearly in Plan B mode.

The obvious replacement at right tackle is Jeremy Bridges, who has filled in twice before for Otah during games. Bridges has experience at right tackle, having started 14 games there in 2006.

What to do at left tackle is a bit more unclear.

Conventional wisdom suggests the Panthers would move Travelle Wharton out to tackle and play Geoff Hangartner at guard. But the other option would be to leave Wharton at guard and give Frank Omiyale his first NFL start at left tackle.