Panthers monitoring several injuries in Week 17: Horn, Moton among five starters sidelined
The Carolina Panthers are banged up heading into the final two games of the season. The team practiced Thursday without five starters, including cornerback Jaycee Horn (hip).
Horn, right tackle Taylor Moton (knee), outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (elbow/knee), and inside linebacker Josey Jewell (head/neck/quad) were seen on the practice field, but didn’t take part in team drills. Left guard Damien Lewis (illness/ankle) and nickel corner Chau Smith-Wade (illness/chest) were also held out of the workout.
If Horn were to miss the Week 17 battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers would probably need to rely on Maiden, North Carolina, native Caleb Farley, among others, to make up for the loss. Horn’s status for the game is in question after sitting out the second workout of the week.
Moton and Lewis, if they were to miss the game against Tampa Bay on Sunday, would likely be replaced by Brady Christensen and Chandler Zavala, respectively. Smith-Wade, if sidelined for the game, would probably be replaced by veteran Dane Jackson.
The Panthers are particularly light on inside and outside linebacker depth, so Clowney and Jewell will be worth monitoring on Friday. The team signed linebacker Chandler Wooten on Tuesday to serve as insurance for Jewell, while second-year outside linebacker DJ Johnson would likely get the call to replace Clowney if needed.
But, in positive injury news, rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette (hip) was listed as a limited participant in practice.
Below is the full participation report for Wednesday:
Did not participate: CB Jaycee Horn (hip), LG Damien Lewis (illness/ankle), OLB Cam Gill (illness), RT Taylor Moton (knee), ILB Josey Jewell (head/neck/quad), OLB Jadeveon Clowney (elbow/knee), CB Chau Smith-Wade (illness/chest)
Limited participation: OLB Amare Barno (knee), RB Chuba Hubbard (knee), WR Xavier Legette (hip/wrist), WR Adam Thielen (hamstring), TE Tommy Tremble (shoulder/back), DE A’Shawn Robinson (knee), OLB DJ Wonnum (shoulder/knee)
Full participation: QB Bryce Young (hamstring), C Cade Mays (illness) OT Ikem Ekwonu (shoulder/illness)
Panthers WR Xavier Legette offers clarity on injury
There is some intrigue surrounding Legette’s injury status for the final two games of the campaign.
While the Panthers have listed Legette as having a hip injury for the past two weeks, the first-round pick clarified on Thursday that he is dealing with a groin injury. Legette got hurt against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15 and missed last week’s overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals.
Legette is also dealing with a wrist injury that dates back to his college career. While the wrist injury is now listed on the participation report, both Legette and head coach Dave Canales have claimed that the injury hasn’t affected the receiver’s ability to catch the ball.
On Thursday, Legette was able to take part in drills, but cautioned that he is still going through a rehabilitation process.
“I’m in the little process, it’s slow right now — it’s why I’m getting minimum reps,” Legette said. “But I’m feeling good, though.”
Legette feels like he is trending in the right direction but he still needs to work through some of the pain on Friday. The South Carolina alum wants to be out on the field but acknowledges the injury isn’t completely cleared.
“I feel like I’m doing good to be able to play,” Legette said. “But I’m (going) off their protocol.”
Jadeveon Clowney weighs in on ‘roller coaster ride’ year
The Panthers sit at 4-11 entering Week 17, and the playoffs are no longer attainable. When Clowney arrived in the offseason, he had lofty goals for his time with his local team.
However, Clowney has dealt with a knee injury — along with other bumps and bruises — that has hindered his productivity this season. The Panthers also have the worst run defense in the NFL by a rather large margin.
Things haven’t gone as planned, and Clowney acknowledged that Thursday.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride,” Clowney said. “A lot of ups and downs. You figure out about a lot of guys in situations like this. Who gon’ stand up? And who gon’ quit? Them type of guys — you figure out a lot. With a season like this, it tells a lot about your team. You’ve got fighters or quitters. I’m just learning about my teammates this year. And hopefully, next year will be a lot better.”
Clowney, who is now in his 11th season, is looking forward to playing in the next two games because he enjoys being out there with his teammates. He wants to finish strong as he completes the first year of a two-year contract signed in March.
“Every time I step out there, I’m playing for my teammates and my family, so I ain’t never stepped out there and not played for the guys beside me or my family,” Clowney said. “I don’t know no other way to play the game but for the guys beside that’s battling with me and going to war. So I always play for that.”
Quick hits
▪ RB Chuba Hubbard needs seven rushing first downs to pass former All-Pro Christian McCaffrey on the team’s all-time rushing first-downs list. Hubbard comes into Week 17 as the fifth-ranked player in team history with 180 rushing yard first downs. McCaffrey, during his time in Carolina, produced 186 rushing yard first downs. Hubbard, who also ranks fifth franchise history in career rushing yardage (3,175), needs 162 rushing yards to succeed DeShaun Foster (3,336) for the fourth spot in franchise history.
▪ P Johnny Hekker needs seven punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line to sneak into the top 10 in NFL history in that specific category. He is tied with Matt Turk for the 11th spot with 373 punts inside the 20-yard line in his career.
▪ The Panthers are set to face a tough test on defense. The Buccaneers entered Week 17 ranked third in total net yards per game average (389.3), seventh in net rushing yards per game (143.7) and third in net passing yards per game (246.1). Against Carolina in Week 13, the Buccaneers posted 445 total yards, 236 rushing yards and 209 passing yards in a 26-23 overtime win.
