Jalen Coker gave Carolina Panthers fans a scare after his monster Week 1 performance, but his initial injury update sounds encouraging.

Coker told reporters Monday that he rolled his ankle during the first quarter of Sunday's 59-37 loss to the Chicago Bears but expects to practice Wednesday.

Jalen Coker says he rolled his ankle in the first quarter of yesterday’s game but expects to practice on Wednesday. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/TdOpSA54LS

— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) September 14, 2026

That's tremendous news considering Coker somehow played through the injury and proceeded to torch Chicago's secondary.

The third-year receiver caught eight of his nine targets for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard score from Bryce Young. It was also the first multi-touchdown performance of Coker's career.

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Now the attention turns to Wednesday. Coker expecting to practice is encouraging, but how much work he's actually able to handle will provide a better indication of his availability moving forward. An ankle injury is still something worth monitoring throughout the week, especially after playing through it Sunday.

For Carolina, keeping Coker on the field would be huge. His Week 1 explosion wasn't just a promising fantasy football performance. Coker put more evidence on tape that opposing defenses can't afford to treat him as an afterthought in Carolina's passing game.

The Panthers suddenly have an intriguing group of receiving weapons around Young, and Coker's continued emergence could make the unit much more difficult to defend. After what he did against Chicago, Coker won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore.

Carolina takes on the Atlanta Falcons for their first divisional matchup of the regular season on Sunday at 1:00 pm ET. Every single NFC South matchup matters, as there is absolutely no telling who will be crowned division champs after the season if 2025 is any indicator.

The Panthers' defense got torched on Sunday, and that needs to be fixed asap if you are Dave Canales.