CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Each day starts the same way for the Carolina Panthers. The players slowly make their way to Ericsson Stadium, then go to work trying to save their season.

Less than two miles away, each day starts the same way for Rae Carruth.

The former Carolina receiver slowly makes his way from his jail cell to the courthouse across the street, then goes to work trying to save his life.

In a season full of distractions for the Carolina Panthers, the biggest one is yet to come.

Jury selection is under way in Carruth's murder trial and opening arguments could start as early as next week. With that will come round-the-clock television coverage and an onslaught of unwanted attention.

"It's kind of beyond football right now," said Carolina coach George Seifert.

And as much as the Panthers would like to believe that, and would like to distance themselves from their former teammate, it could be impossible: A handful of players have been listed as potential witnesses in the trial.

"The only persons it should affect are the people that are being pulled away from here to have to go and testify," cornerback Eric Davis said. "Other than that, we've had a lot of practice staying away from issues and putting them out of your mind, because so many things have happened around here the last few years."

In their short six-year existence, the Panthers have faced one distraction after another.

Quarterback Kerry Collins directed a racial slur at a teammate in 1997, then quit the team four-games into the 1998 season. That same year, linebacker Kevin Greene was caught on television shoving an assistant coach on the sidelines.

Running back Fred Lane, traded to Indianapolis during the offseason, was shot to death in his Charlotte home in July.

And just last month, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave quit the team.

Foremost in the headlines now is the Carruth case.

Carruth, Carolina's top draft pick in 1997, is accused of masterminding the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend to avoid paying child support.

Cherica Adams was gunned down while driving on a quiet Charlotte street, immediately after going to the movies with Carruth. Doctors saved her baby, a son, but Adams died a month after the shooting.

Once Adams died, Carruth jumped bail and fled to Tennessee, where he was found in the trunk of a car. He was arrested and the Panthers waived him.

But his release from the team wasn't enough to cut their ties from Carruth.

Linebacker Hannibal Navies, a college teammate of Carruth's at Colorado, will definitely be called to testify.

Court documents show that Carruth and Adams went to the movies on a double-date with Navies before the shooting. After the movie, Carruth went to Navies' home and played video games.

Navies, reluctant to comment on the case, said testifying won't be a distraction for him.

"I'll be all right, it's something you prepare for," he said. "You knew it was coming, so it's not a distraction at all."

Also listed as possible witnesses are receiver Muhsin Muhammad and fullback William Floyd, but what role they might play is unclear.

From the team's standpoint, Seifert said players being called to testify would be similar to a player missing practice for a family emergency.

"I'm not suggesting there is not a lot of meaning in the seriousness of it, but at the same time this has been something that transpired for a period of time," Seifert said. "It's a tragic situation, but at the same time the players have their own responsibilities to their families and their profession."

In the meantime, players are struggling to decide how much — if any — of the case they will follow. All four of Charlotte's local news stations lead their broadcasts with special reports and once jury selection is completed, Court-TV will televise the trial gavel-to-gavel.

Safety Mike Minter, drafted the same year as Carruth, said he'll probably watch the trial during his free time.

"I'll look at it, to see what's going on and how it's going for the guy," Minter said. "When you see him on TV, that's when I think it will all sink in. It's like, 'We used to play on the same team type of thing.' "

Others, such as quarterback Steve Beuerlein, said they'll stay away from the coverage.

"I'm just going to try not to let myself get caught up in it and read the tabloids and all that stuff like I did with the O.J. Simpson trial. We've got enough issues to worry about around here right now," he said.

For the most part, the Panthers just want it to end. The trial is expected to last the rest of the year — the rest of Carolina's season.

"If he had absolutely nothing to do with this, then it's a horrible, horrible thing he's having to go through," Davis said. "No one should have to suffer anything like that, all the talk and whispers and stares. It's an injustice if you have nothing to do with it.

"And if you have something to do with it then you're getting what you deserved. Like everyone else, we just have to wait to see how it plays out."