Carolina Panthers double up on defensive front-seven going into Week 5

The Carolina Panthers announced a pair of roster moves on Saturday heading into today's home game against the Miami Dolphins. Both transactions are intended to boost the depth of their defensive front-seven, which as been a sore point this season.

First, the team activated defensive lineman LaBryan Ray from the injured reserve list to the active roster. Ray played his college ball at Alabama, where he put up six sacks and 15 tackles for a loss in 45 career games. During his time there Ray was part of two National Championship teams.

So far, Ray has put in 33 games in Carolina, including 10 starts. He has toaled one sack and 60 combined tackles.

The Panthers have added Ray to the mix because they will once again be missing defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, who has been ruled out this week due to a toe injury. Wharton also had to sit out in Weeks 1-2.

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end LaBryan Ray (93) in the tunnel against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Carolina has also used a standard practice squad elevation for off-ball linebacker Krys Barnes. Barnes played his college career at UCLA, putting up five sacks, 21 tackles for a loss and 13 pass breakups in 43 games.

Barnes also went undrafted and initially signed with the Green Bay Packers. He put in 35 games with the Packers over the next three seasons, including 24 starts. Barnes then signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023 and stayed for two years, but only saw six starts during his time in Arizona. He signed with the Panthers in August.

The need for Barnes is also pretty clear. You can make a very strong case that no team has gotten a worse performance from their inside linebackers this season than the Panthers. With Josey Jewell gone, they've been starting Christian Rozeboom, who has the worst PFF grade at his position, and Trevin Wallace, who isn't far behind.

Barnes will most likely only see the field on special teams unless Rozeboom or Wallace get injured, or if defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero decides he's seen enough of them.

Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers linebacker Krys Barnes (40) during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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