Panthers Survived the Injuries. Now the Help Could Be Coming

I'm almost afraid to look at the Panthers' injury report anymore. Seriously, has there been a week when somebody hasn't gone down? We're only four games into the season, and it already feels like I've spent half of it talking about injuries.

Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are on injured reserve. Xavier Legette is there now, too. Jalen Coker missed the Detroit game, Damien Lewis was out, and Carolina was already playing without Taylor Moton and Tershawn Wharton. Then Monroe Freeling got hurt Sunday night because, of course, he did.

That's a big reason I picked Detroit. At some point, I figured Carolina was going to run out of guys, and all of these injuries were finally going to catch up with them. Instead, the Panthers beat the Lions 32-26 with a bunch of guys playing roles I don't think anybody expected them to be playing four games into the season.

Now, for the first time in a while, Carolina might actually be getting some people back. The Panthers made several roster moves Tuesday and have two open spots on the 53-man roster. Dave Canales said Trevor Etienne should be ready to practice after the bye, while Moton and Wharton are getting closer but still need medical clearance.

I don't know exactly when all three will be back, and I'm not going to pretend they're all walking through the door the minute the bye ends. After spending the last few weeks wondering who's going down next, though, I'll take this kind of injury news.

How Many More Guys Can Carolina Lose?

Dec 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Taylor Moton (72) runs on the field before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I've been wondering about this for the last couple of weeks, and Detroit might've been the best example yet. Both starting cornerbacks were on injured reserve. Lewis was out, Legette was out, Coker was out, and Moton still wasn't available. I'm probably forgetting somebody at this point.

Corey Bullock stepped in for Lewis and, outside of a rough start, did a pretty good job. Will Lee III is playing a much bigger role at cornerback than I thought he would this early. It feels like every week somebody else is getting thrown into the lineup and basically being told, "You're up."

And somehow, it keeps working. Carolina is 2-2 and just beat Detroit with a lineup that looks a whole lot different from what we thought it would when the season started. I don't know how much longer you can keep doing that, though, and I'd rather not find out.

Moton is probably the biggest one for me. Carolina has been trying to hold this offensive line together without him, and now Freeling is banged up, too. If Moton can get cleared after the bye, that would be a pretty big deal for an offensive line that's had to keep moving pieces around.

I'd like to see Wharton back, too, and the same goes for Etienne. I don't know how much Etienne changes the offense with Chuba Hubbard playing the way he is, but give me another healthy player at this point, and I'll worry about where he fits later. None of these guys has to come back and save Carolina because, at 2-2, the Panthers have already shown they can survive without them.

I just don't want to keep finding out how many injuries this team can take before it finally becomes too much.

Maybe I Need to Apologize to Whoever Made the Schedule

I hated this Week 5 bye when the schedule came out. I remember looking at it and complaining about four games before the bye. That's it? Carolina has to play the rest of the season after getting its only break in early October?

Yeah, I'm not complaining anymore. If you've seen the injury report, you know why. Carolina needs this week about as badly as a team can need a bye after only four games, and now there's at least a chance the Panthers come out of it healthier than they went into it.

The funny part is they've actually played pretty well while all of this has been going on. Carolina is 2-2, went to Atlanta and won 34-3, and then beat Detroit on Sunday Night Football with guys missing everywhere. That's what has me curious about what happens next.

I still don't know exactly what this Panthers team is. I've changed my mind about them about three times already, and we're only four games into the season. But they've already shown me they can survive without a lot of these guys.

I'd like to see what they can do with them.

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