Carolina Panthers just got more bad injury news. Here’s the latest
The Panthers are dealing with more than just quarterback issues. Carolina lost two key starters during their 24-6 loss to the New England Patriots.
Defensive end Brian Burns exited the game twice due to injury. First, after an entanglement with quarterback Mac Jones following his strip-sack. Jones grabbed Burns’ ankle and the two were twisted in a fight for the football. Burns missed a few plays the following series but later returned.
He re-aggravated his ankle in the fourth quarter and Carolina declared him out shortly after. On Monday, Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Burns would undergo imaging to determine the severity of his injury.
“Brian had an ankle sprain. I’m not sure yet where that’ll be,” Rhule said. “He was getting an MRI as well. So the extent of that ankle sprain? We’ll have to wait and see.”
Rhule said he’ll know more by Tuesday. Whether Burns practices on Wednesday will be telling. Carolina has some depth to replace Burns if he cannot go; Yetur Gross-Matos played 44% of snaps versus New England, his most of the season.
Burns missing any time would damage a Panthers’ defense that is solidifying itself as one of the league’s most disruptive units. Carolina held New England to 273 yards and forced two critical first-half turnovers. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow called a solid game. His unit wasn’t aided by repeatedly defending short fields while Sam Darnold and the offense mustered six points off the defense’s two takeaways.
His snaps can be replaced by multiple bodies. The same cannot be said about the Panthers’ offensive line. Center Matt Paradis tore his ACL two plays into Sunday’s game. Rhule confirmed on Monday that he is done for the season. Backup center Sam Tecklenburg replaced Paradis and allowed only one pressure, according to Pro Football Focus.
Tecklenburg will compete with veteran Pat Elflein for starting reps this week at practice. Elflein injured his hamstring in September and was placed on IR. Carolina utilized the full 21-day window to activate Elflein before elevating him to the active roster last week. Replacing Paradis with either Tecklenburg or Elflein compounds an already shaky quarterback situation.
“The center handles all the communication,” Rhule said. “Matt Paradis was elite for us this season. Making protections, (calling) Mike points, different fronts. We did a great job making sure we were all in communication up front blocking.”
Being on the same page with whomever the Panthers start at quarterback will be vital in communication. It’s also problematic that left tackle Cam Erving left Sunday’s game with a calf injury and has been placed on IR, putting him out for at least three weeks.
Dennis Daley filled in for Erving and will be in line to start against Arizona. The third-year player serves as Carolina’s swing tackle, playing inside or out whenever needed. Carolina has started seven different offensive line combinations in 10 games. Next week will mark yet another starting lineup and bring even more questions.
In other roster moves, the Panthers also waived running back Royce Freeman and signed punter Lachlan Edwards to the active roster. This leaves Carolina with three open roster spots and flexibility over the coming weeks.
The Panthers’ injuries are starting to pile up as Carolina (4-5) heads to Arizona (8-1) to face one of the NFC’s best teams. Playing with a backup center and left tackle on the road creates problems the Panthers must anticipate before things become exponentially worse.
“You get to these moments where it feels like the sky is falling. You want to just panic. Why? I mean, why panic? We’re not a bad football team,” Rhule said. “We played bad football yesterday. That’s a big difference.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers just got more bad injury news. Here’s the latest."
