Panthers' Dave Canales offers injury updates on 4 players, including 2 key defenders

If the Carolina Panthers are going to improve on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, they're going to need both Bobby Brown III and D.J. Wonnum to step up.

Wonnum is entering his sixth season in the NFL and his second with the Panthers, but he's also coming off a campaign in which he appeared in just eight games due to injury.

Meanwhile, Brown was brought in on a three-year, $21 million deal this offseason and is expected to upgrade the interior of the Panthers' defensive line next to Derrick Brown.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the injury front, neither player is off to a great start at training camp.

According to Joe Person of The Athletic, Brown and Wonnum are both dealing with injuries. Brown was placed on the non-football injury list on Tuesday.

The latter is currently in the midst of ramping up as he works his way back from a "couple of different things," and Brown is dealing with a minor hamstring injury, Canales said on Wednesday. The Panthers coach did not give a timeline for either one, though.

In addition to those two, Canales revealed that Tommy Tremble, who is on the PUP list, could be back in three to four weeks, and punter Sam Martin, who is on the non-football injury list, has a minor hamstring issue.

Tremble is recovering from offseason back surgery and that timeline puts his status for Week 1 in doubt.

It's important to note that all three players on the injured lists can be activated at any time.

Normally you don't want to make a big deal about injuries at this stage of the offseason, but Wonnum's is a bit troubling after he missed nine games in 2024 with a quadriceps injury. He's very important to Carolina's pass-rush, which has no shortage of question marks.

The Panthers are hoping Brown can provide a significant boost to a run defense that finished last in the NFL in 2024. Brown posted a solid 67.6 run defense grade for the Los Angeles Rams in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked 27th among interior defensive linemen.

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