The Panthers will be returning to a prime-time Sunday Night slot this weekend for their kickoff vs. the Lions after a decade, but their squad looks like it’s being held together with duct tape.
Half of the locker room looks like an infirmary, where some of their most important players are out with injuries.
In the final injury report before the Lions game, the Panthers made two crucial injury announcements about 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette and star wide receiver Jalen Coker.
Xavier Legette on IR, Jalen Coker Unlikely to Play for Panthers
Panthers put Legette on injured reserve ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Detroit Lions, per ESPN’s Mike Kaye.
Legette was ruled out with a knee injury on Friday and was set to miss his second consecutive game after sustaining the injury in the Week 2 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He will now miss at least three additional games after being placed on the injury list Saturday.
After plenty of updates on Coker throughout the week, all concerning, the Panthers got what they didn’t want to hear.
Coker is unlikely to play in Sunday’s matchup vs. the Lions, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Both updates put the Panthers in an even more precarious situation as they prepare to face Jared Goff’s squad in a game that Carolina desperately needs to win.
Other Injury Updates and Roster Moves
The Panthers locker room was getting depleted fast, forcing head coach Dave Canales to fetch more depth from the practice squad.
The Panthers elevated wide receiver Ja’seem Reed from the practice squad to the game-day roster for Sunday as insurance. Tetairoa McMillan, John Metchie III, Brycen Tremayne and David Moore make up the rest of the position group.
Besides Reed, veteran cornerback Robert Rochell also got a chance to make it to the active roster from the practice squad.
“Well, Ja’seem will come up and help,” coach Dave Canales said Friday. “Last week, we finished the game with Brycen; [he] made a couple of nice plays for us. David Moore also was up catching punts, and he’s able to help us out that way.
“We got Metchie. Metchie will, if Jalen doesn’t go — Metchie’s practiced and ready, because Jalen wasn’t able to go fully, a couple of the other days. John was able to take some of his reps.”
As for the injuries, right tackle Monroe Freeling, who was listed as questionable heading into the weekend, cleared the concussion protocol on Saturday and started at right tackle vs. the Lions.
Defensive linemen Lee Hunter (foot) and Cam Jackson (knee) remain questionable on the Panthers’ injury report. Starting left guard Damien Lewis (elbow) was also previously ruled out.
And that’s just this week’s damage. The rest of Carolina’s injury report is looking like a hospital ward.
Yet somehow, the Panthers just dragged the Lions through a Sunday night track meet and stole a massive win, making their first time back under the national spotlight in a decade worth every single second.
If they keep putting on shows like that, the league isn’t going to have much of a choice about flexing them back into prime time.
Panthers Get Couple of Upsetting Injury Updates Before Historic Sunday Night Football