Another Carolina Panthers defensive player will miss significant time with an injury
The Carolina Panthers’ secondary has suffered another blow.
Jeremy Chinn, the team’s 2020 second-round draft pick who has shown flashes of brilliance in his brief stint in Carolina, is dealing with a significant quad injury, a league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report the news.
The injury will not require surgery but is expected to sideline him up to six weeks, per ESPN. This is just the latest in a slew of injuries to the Panthers defense: Safety Xavier Woods (hamstring) hasn’t played the last few weeks. Starting safety Vonn Bell (quad) also missed the contest against Miami — and that’s piled onto the long-term injury top cornerback Jaycee Horn suffered in Week 1.
The playing time of the 25-year-old safety — who is technically a defensive back but is a proven playmaker the closer to the line he plays — hasn’t had the fourth-year thrust that some might’ve been expected at the beginning of 2023. He took 26 defensive snaps (39%) and seven on special teams in the Panthers’ latest loss to Miami this past weekend, which dropped them to 0-6. This was a slight uptick from the week before at Detroit, when he took 18 defensive snaps (30%) and 11 snaps on special teams.
He’s notched 23 tackles, one sack and one pass deflection in six games played this year.
He suffered the injury against the Dolphins this past Sunday.
Chinn’s most productive season to date has been his rookie year, when he notched 117 tackles, forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles and also had an interception — enough to make him a legitimate candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Similar numbers followed in 2021.
Since then, though, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound defender has seen his production and playing time dwindle.
Chinn is in his fourth season, which means he’s in the final year of his contract and is scheduled to be a free agent after this season. The NFL trade deadline is set for Oct. 31 at 4 p.m.
The Panthers signed safety Alex Cook from the New York Giants practice squad on Tuesday to help with their safety depth problem.
Mike Kaye contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 12:55 PM.
