CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chris Weinke is back as Carolina's starting quarterback, refusing to think about anything but the Atlanta Falcons.

Weinke, benched before the start of the season, got his job back when team officials decided Rodney Peete could no longer play with a knee injury. Weinke took his first snaps with the first team in practice Wednesday.

How long he stays there remains to be seen. Peete is expected back next month, and if Weinke doesn't play well he could lose the starting spot again.

"For me to look beyond Sunday would probably be a mistake,'' Weinke said. "I need to continue to focus on one game at a time. There will be rumblings here and there about the future around here, but I can't worry about that.''

Weinke, once touted as Carolina's franchise quarterback, will make his first start of the season Sunday in Atlanta (2-3).

Atlanta game, as well as the ones that follow, gives the Panthers (3-3) a chance to evaluate their future and determine if former Heisman Trophy winner Weinke is still in their plans.

Weinke knows that, but won't play like that.

"The most important thing I can do is work on the things that I need to get better at and go week by week,'' he said. "My goal is to go in there and be successful and show that I am capable. I can't control things outside of that.''

Weinke, who started 15 games during Carolina's 1-15 campaign last season, lost his job because he was struggling in the Panthers' new offensive system.

So they went with Peete in the opener, saying the veteran was more familiar with the offense, and he led them to three straight wins. But Peete struggled with turnovers in losses to Green Bay and Arizona, and left Sunday's loss to Dallas after a concussion near the end of the first half.

Weinke played the second half and went 7-for-12 for 114 yards.

Panthers coach John Fox said Weinke has handled the situation well and has shown steady improvement in practice the past few weeks.

"I think he's been more accurate,'' Fox said. "His decision-making has been better. He's been more consistent in his throwing mechanics.''

His hard work and preparation have been noticed by his teammates, who are eager to see Weinke back in the lineup.

"I've always been a Chris Weinke fan, and I'm really proud of the way he handled the situation at the beginning of the season and the way he's worked in practice,'' tight end Wesley Walls said. "He's improved, and it shows. He's got confidence, and when you practice hard and work hard, it will carry over into the game.''

After the benching, Weinke said he was angry at the coaching staff for 24 hours. But he quickly realized that was counterproductive and set out to work on his shortcomings.

By doing that, Weinke thinks he showed his teammates that he was strong enough to bounce back.

"I think when something like that takes place, there may be guys (teammates) that internally lose confidence,'' he said. "But I didn't see any of that, externally.

"I feel like I've got a good relationship with the guys on this football team. They knew what I was going through.''

Randy Fasani, a rookie from Stanford, will back up Weinke, and running back Dee Brown will be the third-string quarterback.

Weinke might not have the usual corps of receivers to throw to.

Steve Smith, the team's leading receiver, is questionable with sore ribs. Isaac Byrd, who missed last week's game with a pulled abdominal muscle, didn't practice on Wednesday and is also questionable.

Tight end Wesley Walls was listed as doubtful because of a gash on his right ring finger that opened when he fractured the bone. And Karl Hankton left the team Wednesday to be with his ailing grandmother in New Orleans, leaving Nathan Black, who has never caught a pass in the NFL, as the team's only healthy receiver.

"That's part of this game,'' Weinke said. "You can look at the wire every night and see teams with players injured. Those are one of those things you have to fight through and find a way.''