Panthers roster moves: Chinn activated to 53-man roster, LB signed
The Carolina Panthers activated starting safety Jeremy Chinn from injured reserve on Saturday ahead of the team’s Week 11 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Chinn had been sidelined on the inactive list for six weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury in the first quarter of the Week 4 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Chinn has yet to play in a game since interim head coach Steve Wilks took over for Matt Rhule, who was fired in Week 6.
Chinn had his 21-day practice window activated last week but the team decided to hold him out of its 25-15 win against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. The Panthers have used a combination of Myles Hartsfield, Juston Burris and Sean Chandler to replace Chinn in the secondary.
On Friday, the Panthers listed Hartsfield (ankle) as “doubtful” for the game against the Ravens. On Saturday, the team announced Hartsfield had been downgraded to “out” and wouldn’t travel with the team to Baltimore.
Burris (concussion/illness) was ruled out for the game with the initial injury report. Burris will miss his third consecutive game after sustaining a concussion against the Falcons in Week 8.
The Panthers weren’t forced to make a corresponding move on the 53-man roster to activate Chinn. The team placed starting cornerback Donte Jackson (Achilles) on injured reserve on Monday, so it had an open spot to use.
The Panthers also cut linebacker Arron Mosby and promoted linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Iyiegbuniwe spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears, playing 58 games and producing 25 tackles. He is mostly known for his special teams work, and played under special teams coordinator Chris Tabor in Chicago.
In addition to activating Chinn and promoting Iyiegbuniwe, the Panthers also elevated cornerback T.J. Carrie and defensive tackle Phil Hoskins from the practice squad to the game-day roster. Carrie was signed to the practice roster on Tuesday, and he received the first of his three potential standard elevations on Saturday.
Carrie played under Wilks and interim defensive coordinator Al Holcomb in 2019 when the trio was Cleveland with the Browns. Wilks was the Browns defensive coordinator, while Holcomb served as linebackers coach.
Carrie will serve as cornerback depth behind the projected starting trio of Jaycee Horn, C.J. Henderson and Keith Taylor. The team also has Tae Hayes at cornerback.
Horn was listed as “questionable” with a foot injury on Friday, but Wilks said the cornerback looked good in the final practice of the week.
Hoskins also received his first elevation and will provide depth in place of defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, who was ruled out on Friday with a calf injury suffered in Week 10.
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 4:12 PM.
