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CHARLOTTE (MCT) — Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams missed the team's Wednesday practice with what coach John Fox called a "sore knee."

Fox didn't say how Williams hurt the knee, how severe the injury is, or if Williams would play in the Panthers' exhibition Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens at Bank of America Stadium.

Fox did, however, say that the spate of injuries seen by the team this preseason is having an effect.

"Any time you're playing games and you have injuries, it knocks down our depth chart," Fox said. "We didn't have a lot of depth to start with. But that's part of preseason football. Hopefully we're getting our injuries out of the way."

Williams' partner at running back, Jonathan Stewart, continues to nurse a sore Achilles tendon and missed practice again. Offensive guard Travelle Wharton didn't attend for personal reasons and rookie defensive tackle Lonnie Harvey sat out with back cramps.

Fox: Peppers just fine

Fox says he's pleased with the progress of defensive end Julius Peppers, who missed minicamp and summer school practices in May and June because he hadn't yet signed his contract tender.

Peppers met his new coaches, defensive coordinator Ron Meeks and defensive line coach Brian Baker, when he reported to training camp Aug. 2 and began learning about changes made to the team's defensive system since last year.

Peppers didn't have a defensive stat in his first half of work against Miami left tackle Jake Long in last Saturday's exhibition, but he pointed out that it was essentially a practice game.

Fox said Peppers isn't behind when asked if Peppers was still catching up on work he missed earlier in the offseason.

"Defensive end is not really a scientific position," said Fox. "He came back in great shape. He's picked up very quickly what we're doing. A lot of it is the same we've done in the past. It's a matter of some different techniques. But other than that, he's doing fine."