What Dave Canales said about two key next-men-up for Panthers vs. Falcons

Demani Richardson and Claudin Cherelus will be thrust into bigger roles this week due to injuries for Lathan Ransom and Trevin Wallace.

Nov 2, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are mostly healthy heading into tomorrow's game against the Atlanta Falcons, who they blew out 30-0 back in Week 3.

As always, there are exceptions to that rule. Carolina is still down two offensive linemen with star right guard Robert Hunt and utility backup Brady Christensen on the injured reserve list.

The Panthers will also be missing two pieces on the back end of their defense, with rookie safety Lathan Ransom and linebacker Trevin Wallace being ruled out for Sunday's game. The next men up to take their place will be Demani Richardson and Claudin Cherelus, respectively.

Here's what head coach Dave Canales shared about those two going into Sunday's game.

#Panthers coach Dave Canales on two defensive roles that will need to be filled with the injuries to Trevin Wallace and Lathan Ransom.

What he said about Demani Richardson and Claudin Cherelus below. He didn’t disclose who will wear the green dot Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ICLhWEulD5

— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) November 14, 2025

On the bright side, at least in Ransom's case it's not a huge loss. The rookie is still getting his feet wet at this level and has had issues in coverage. Going into Week 11, he has the second-lowest grade (53.1 overall) of any regular starter for Carolina's defense.

Wallace's absence could be a big deal, though. Since taking over the green dot playcaller role for the Panthers defense a month into the season he's been performing at a high level, and the unit as a whole ahs performed better, as well.

Christian Rozeboom will presumably take over that role, but he's the only starter with a lower grade than Ransom on this side of the ball.

If anyone is likely to take advantage, it's Bijan Robinson - who Carolina managed to hold to just 72 yards in their first meeting this season. He only saw 13 carries, though - and could have done a lot more damage at 5.5 yards per attempt with a heavier workload.

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