Panthers have injuries stacking up. Let’s evaluate how Carolina’s backups are playing
Entering Carolina’s Week 6 game against the Chicago Bears, the most injuries the Panthers had suffered came on the defensive line.
Defensive tackle and team captain Kawann Short is out for the season with a shoulder injury and rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos was placed on injured reserve last week with a high ankle sprain. But overall the line played well in the loss to Chicago, rotating players in and out all afternoon, as coordinator Phil Snow has done all season.
Compared to many NFL teams, the Panthers have stayed relatively healthy this year, but do have their fair share of starters sidelined with injuries. Here’s how the participation broke down without them Sunday:
Defensive line
The Panthers gave up the fewest rushing yards of the season — 63 — which was the first time they’ve have allowed fewer than 100 yards on the ground in a single game this year. The defense also had nine quarterback hits, but zero sacks; they remained tied for the fewest sacks in the league with five (Jaguars).
In his return from suffering a concussion vs. the Falcons last week, Brian Burns played 86% of snaps, the most on the line. He again had another strong performance, finishing with three quarterback hits, tying his season-high.
Rookie defensive tackle Derrick Brown played 71% of the snaps with Short out while his replacement, Zach Kerr, played 58%.
The Panthers will continue to use a rotation throughout the season, but Brown — one quarterback hit and one tackle for loss vs. the Bears — is the team’s best tackle remaining. When he was selected with the seventh overall pick in the draft, Brown was clearly going to play right away; however, Short was supposed to be by his side. But playing Kerr and rookie Bravvion Roy (26% of snaps) was an effective move without the Pro Bowler.
Snow also likes to move players around to play different positions on field. Linebacker Adarius Taylor was on the edge for at least one play Sunday. It’s common to see defenders not in “traditional” positions.
On the edge, Gross-Matos hadn’t been playing enough snaps a game, due to a variety of injuries, to make his loss that noticeable on the participation chart. On the line, Stephen Weatherly (59% of snaps), who has only one quarterback hit this season and zero sacks, Marquis Haynes (44%) and Efe Obada (42%) will continue to be heavily involved.
Wide receiver
Curtis Samuel was ruled out of the game Sunday with a knee injury. Without the team’s leading third-down receiver (11 receptions on 11 targets), Keith Kirkwood was largely the team’s third wide receiver, playing 51% of the snaps in his first game as a Panther. Kirkwood (broken clavicle) was activated from injured reserve this week. He was targeted twice and caught one pass for 13 yards.
DJ Moore played a season-high 94% of the snaps, finishing with five receptions on 11 targets for 93 yards, and Robby Anderson played a season-high 87% of snaps, finishing with four receptions for 77 yards.
Seth Roberts, who coach Matt Rhule indicated would see more snaps without Samuel, played just 22% of the offensive plays and was not targeted.
The Panthers missed Samuel on third down (they converted only 3 of 13 attempts), but overall the offense was out of sync all day.
Cornerback
With cornerback Donte Jackson dealing with a lingering toe injury, the third-year player rotated with rookie Troy Pride Jr. Jackson did not start the game and played 50% of the snaps, while Pride played 41%. Each finished with two tackles, while Jackson also had a pass defensed.
Nickel corner Corn Elder was also involved in the rotation, playing 42% of the snaps with four tackles.
If Jackson is unable to get fully healthy in the immediate future, sharing time with Pride and Elder will likely continue. The toe injury has been an issue for multiple weeks, but Rhule has made it clear that when healthy, Rasul Douglas, who played all but one snap, and Jackson are the starting cornerbacks.
Safety
Strong safety Juston Burris suffered a rib injury in the third quarter that required him to be carted off the field. Sam Franklin, an undrafted rookie out of Temple, stepped in and played a career high 35% of defensive snaps after Burris went out. He had never played more than two defensive snaps in a game leading up to Week 6.
Franklin recorded two tackles and was able to fill in for Burris. If Burris misses significant time, which would be a loss for more reasons than one as Burris was improving with each game — including his game-saving interception last week, the Panthers will need Franklin to step up.
Running back
Without Christian McCaffrey for a fourth straight game with a high ankle sprain, Mike Davis continued to play a significant role as his backup. He played 88% of the snaps, but had his worst performance since filling in for the All-Pro. Davis finished with 18 carries for 52 yards and just two receptions for three yards.
