Carolina Panthers roster moves: Big update on Jaycee Horn; Asheville native gets promoted
A pair of notable Carolina Panthers players are on the mend.
Monday, the team announced the activation of the 21-day practice windows for cornerback Jaycee Horn (hamstring) and tight end Ian Thomas (calf). Both players have missed more than a month of action on injured reserve.
Horn suffered a significant hamstring injury during the Week 1 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He has been replaced in the lineup by fellow former first-round pick CJ Henderson, along with deep reserves like Dicaprio Bootle and D’Shawn Jamison, opposite Donte Jackson. Horn, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, is the Panthers’ top cover corner, and with an 1-8 start to the campaign, his presence will be important in making up ground during the second half of the season.
“Obviously, you miss Jaycee a lot,” head coach Frank Reich said. “I mean, the guy is a great player, and I love his attitude. A great teammate. But he’s a high-quality player.
“Now I think the secondary has played really well in his absence. Donte Jackson had a particularly good game this last week. Bootle made a couple nice plays. And you know the safeties, Vonn (Bell) and Xavier (Woods), both played well. So we’ll continue to take it from there. You had a lot of guys hurt, which is a bad things, and you get other guys who step up and play well. Now when those guys get back, and get healthy, you have a better team.”
Horn will be eligible to return to the field as early as Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. However, if he needs more time, the Panthers will have three weeks to activate him before he reverts to season-ending injured reserve. As of now, Horn doesn’t count against the 53-man roster total.
The Panthers have a decision to make this offseason on Horn’s fifth-year option for 2025. Horn has missed 26 of 43 career games due to various injuries, including eight games so far this season. While Horn is clearly talented, his injury history might give the Panthers pause in picking up the option. The organization might want to see Horn make it through his fourth season relatively unscathed before committing more money to him.
Similarly, Thomas, who suffered his calf injury in the Week 5 loss to the Detroit Lions, will be eligible to return this weekend.
Thomas, the team’s top blocking tight end, has been replaced by a mix of Tommy Tremble and Stephen Sullivan over the past month. Tremble is the most versatile of the tight ends, as he is able to hold his own as a playmaker and a blocker, so it’ll be interesting to see how Thomas’ return might impact his playing time. Sullivan, who missed last week’s loss to Chicago, has received some looks on offense of late, but he is mostly used as a special teams asset.
In other roster news, the Panthers promoted pass rusher Eku Leota from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Leota had received standard elevations in each of the previous three matchups, reaching the NFL limit for elevations. The Panthers could either elevate him again and risk losing him to the waiver wire, or sign him to the 53-man roster. They chose the latter option.
Leota, an Asheville native, has worked into a pass rushing rotation with Brian Burns, third-round pick DJ Johnson, Amare Barno and the recently returned Marquis Haynes since the Week 7 bye. Leota has played 44 defensive snaps and 34 special teams snaps over the past three weeks.
The Panthers had an opening on their 53-man roster, so a corresponding move wasn’t necessary.
However, the Panthers did bring back veteran offensive tackle David Sharpe by signing him to the practice squad. The team waived Sharpe last week, but he cleared waivers and is now back on the practice roster. Sharpe had previously appeared as a backup lineman in two games for Carolina this season.
The Panthers also announced that they waived safety Matthias Farley and tight end Jordan Matthews later in the afternoon. The team signed both players to the 53-man roster last week. They both played in the loss to Chicago.
Farley, a Charlotte native, played in five total games this season for the Panthers, while Matthews played in just last week’s matchup. They’ll both be subject to waivers. If either veteran were to pass through waivers, the player could return on the practice squad.
The two open spots could be used to house Thomas and Horn if either is activated later this week.
Quick hits
▪ Reich said Monday that he hasn’t decided on who will call plays on offense against Dallas. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown has called plays over the past three weeks and the Panthers’ offense has produced just two touchdowns during that span. The offense was responsible for just six of the Panthers’ 13 points against the Bears in their 16-13 loss to Chicago.
▪ Reich also provided updates on Henderson (concussion), pass rusher Brian Burns (concussion) and wideout DJ Chark (elbow). That injured trio didn’t play against the Bears.
“Burns and Henderson are doing well in the protocol,” Reich said. “I’m optimistic. You can’t ever know for sure with those things, but I’m optimistic. And DJ I think has made good progress. I think he’s making good progress. So I would anticipate good news with him this week.”
▪ Reich said that despite the lack of clarity on the offensive play-caller job, there were no changes made to the coaching staff this week following the weekend off.
This story was originally published November 13, 2023 at 12:59 PM.
