Ihmir Smith-Marsette's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (ankle) left the team's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills early on Saturday after landing awkwardly completing a catch in the second quarter. The 24-year-old hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 11 yards while contributing 27 yards on two punt returns and a field-flipping 46 yards on his lone kick return. Smith-Marsette was productive before he picked up the injury and is expected to be the team's returner this upcoming season. Barring the severity of his ankle issue, that could still be the case. It's a bit early to tell how impactful the NFL's new kickoff rules will be come the start of the regular season. However, fantasy managers may want to keep the Iowa product on their radar as a sneaky option, depending on how your league values return yards. His Yahoo! ADP is far down enough that he'd be best suited as a prospective waiver-wire add.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (illness) returned to practice on Thursday after an illness kept him sidelined on Wednesday. Rarely ever on the field, he has seen an uptick in his snap share in recent weeks but still has a season-high of 34% that came in Week 16. With Jonathan Mingo (foot) now on injured reserve, Smith-Marsette may see more work in Week 18 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs have given up the most pass yards this season, but in Week 13 still were able to hold quarterback Bryce Young to just 178 yards through the air. Smith-Marsette does not need to be anywhere near fantasy rosters in Week 18.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (illness) did not participate in practice on Wednesday as his team began preparing to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18. Smith-Marsette is dealing with an illness but will still have two more days of practice to get back on the field ahead of Sunday's game. If available on Sunday, the speedy wideout could see a larger role than usual with Jonathan Mingo (foot) placed on injured reserve earlier in the week.