Carolina Panthers' wide receiver Steve Smith returned to the practice field Wednesday and is expected to start this week against the New Orleans Saints. Smith missed last week?s game with a shin injury but participated in all of Wednesday?s practice. ?I?m getting better,? Smith said. ?Sore a little bit, nicked up. If I?m able to go, I?ll go. If I?m not able to go, I can?t go.? Clearly, Coach John Fox is counting on Smith this week in a must-win game. ?I think he was close last week,? Fox said. ?But going in with the (limited) numbers of receivers you do and if all of a sudden a guy gets out there and he can?t go during the course of a game, you can?t say, ?Whoops, we want to bring this guy up now.? So I think he did what he thought was best for the team. Thankfully we got him back this week.?