CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Jake Delhomme threw passes Friday as the
Carolina Panthers opened minicamp, but the team's two first-round
draft picks and last season's leading tackler sat out with
injuries.

Delhomme is who is coming off Tommy John surgery on his right
elbow last year. He practiced for the first time since last
September. The quarterback threw 34 mostly short-to-midrange passes
during individual drills in the morning session, though nothing
longer than about 25 yards.

He won't participate in team drills until June at the earliest,
but coach John Fox said Delhomme is expected to be ready for
training camp. First-round picks Jonathan Stewart, a running back from Oregon, and Jeff Otah, an offensive tackle from Pittsburgh, didn't
participate Friday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)