Panthers lose starting defender to shoulder surgery amid playoff push
Trevin Wallace won’t touch the field again during the 2025 season.
Wallace, a second-year starting inside linebacker, recently underwent shoulder surgery, Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced Friday.
“He was a stud about it,” Canales said. “It was a playable condition, but he wasn’t really turning the corner to be able to play confidently, the way that we know he can, and so we reevaluated that, and really just collectively made that decision (for surgery) to make sure we can get this thing right. Get ahead of it right now, and rehab and get him ready to go for the spring, and get him strong. The shoulder injuries and those types of surgeries take time. If anybody out there has had experience with that, you know there’s a lot that goes into it.”
Wallace missed the team’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the nagging injury last week. The 2024 third-round pick finished last season on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury, so he will end his second campaign similar to his first one in the NFL.
Wallace appeared in 12 games (all starts) this season. He produced career-high sacks (two) and pass breakups (four) to go along with 61 total tackles. He also posted a career-high with four QB hits.
Who will replace Trevin Wallace in Panthers’ defense?
Wallace will be replaced by third-year linebacker Claudin Cherelus, according to Canales. Cherelus was Wallace’s immediate replacement against the Buccaneers in Week 16 as well.
Cherelus, a former undrafted rookie, has been with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero throughout his three-year tenure in Carolina. Cherelus has played 328 total defensive snaps for Evero over the past two years, as he previously replaced Wallace in the lineup down the stretch last season.
Cherelus will make his sixth career start on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. He will line up next veteran linebacker Christian Rozeboom on the inside once again, as both worked in tandem against the Bucs.
The Panthers will count on Cherelus to step up and perform amid their chase for an NFC South crown over the next two weeks.
“He’s very, very studious,” Evero said in November. “He sits in the front of the classroom, great note-taker, he’s always asking (inside linebackers coach Pete Hansen) great questions. Even in the big meeting room with the entire defense, when I’m presenting up there or going through some calls, he’s always one of the guys that responds and is vocal from that standpoint. Very, very coachable — he has the habits it takes to improve and that’s what you’ve seen.”
Other options for ILB depth
With Rozeboom and Cherelus expected to be the two starters at inside linebacker, the Panthers will need to lean on veteran Krys Barnes and rookie Bam Martin-Scott for game-day depth at the position.
The team also has former first-round pick Isaiah Simmons and Jacoby Windmon on the practice squad. Simmons, though, has had all of his standard elevations used over the past three games. The Panthers would need to promote Simmons to the 53-man roster to play him over the next two weeks.
With Wallace all but certain to go to season-ending injured reserve following surgery, the Panthers could, in theory, use that pending open spot for either Simmons or Windmon on the 53-man roster.
Other injury news: Robert Hunt questionable
The Panthers released their final injury report for Week 17 on Friday.
Along with Wallace, the Panthers also ruled out defensive end Turk Wharton, who has been hampered with a hamstring injury since Week 15’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Right guard Robert Hunt (biceps) and wide receiver David Moore (elbow), who are both in the middle of their 21-day practice windows on injured reserve, were listed as questionable. Moore has practiced for two weeks, while Hunt had his window activated on Wednesday.
Hunt, a 2024 Pro Bowl selection, has been sidelined since the Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Moore has been out since the Week 4 loss to the New England Patriots.
With Wharton sidelined against the Seahawks, the Panthers are likely to lean on rookie Cam Jackson for defensive line depth for a third consecutive Sunday.
This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 3:34 PM.
