Steve Wilks Explains Why Josh Norman Didn't Play More vs Bucs, Plan for Week 18

Entering the Week 17 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers knew they would be a bit shorthanded in the back end of the defense with Jaycee Horn being out with a broken wrist.

Josh Norman was expected to factor into the defense but only in sub-packages which would limit him to a maximum rep count of 25. However, he didn't even reach half of that number, logging just 10 defensive snaps on the day. What made his absence more noticeable was the three big, explosive plays Mike Evans had with C.J. Henderson and Keith Taylor in coverage. Despite their inability to eliminate the big plays from happening, Wilks felt it was better than throwing Norman into a situation he wasn't quite ready for.

"When you get a guy that's been sitting on the couch, he's been running his coffee shop doing the things that he's been doing...I felt very pleased with him being in the building. Coming back trying to contribute and help but not to the extent where he was going to play a lot yesterday. I didn't want to put him in that situation."

As far as next week's game is concerned, there is a good chance that Norman will be on the field a little bit more even though the playoffs are now officially out of reach.

"We're going to try to do everything we can to win this football game," said Wilks. "Will he be ready to step up a little bit more than the plays that he had? I know I spoke on 20, no more than 25 plays and I can see that possibly being the same. We need to see exactly where he is from a conditioning standpoint and one of the biggest things in bringing guys back are hamstrings when they've been sitting around sitting out and all of a sudden they're going top-end speed, so I wanted to make sure we try to avoid that. I think he's ready to play based off what he told me but I got to make sure going through the proper channels and watching him that he can go out there and execute."

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @PanthersOnSI

Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.