The Carolina Panthers just announced that they have placed both defensive end Stephen Weatherly and running back Reggie Bonnafon on the injured reserve list. Neither will play again during the 2020 NFL season.
Weatherly began the year as the team’s starting defensive end opposite Brian Burns. He never made much of an impact, though. Despite playing 61% of the team’s defensive snaps to date, Weatherly only totaled 17 combined tackles, three quarterback hits and no sacks. He’s still under contract for next season with a base salary of $4.4 milion, according to Over the Cap. Weather’y issue was a finger injury, which required surgery.
As for Bonnafon, he spent most of his abbreviated 2020 season on the team’s practice squad. During the offseason, his role as Christian McCaffrey’s first backup was taken by Mike Davis, who has more than justified that decision. Bonnafon only wound up playing 23 offensive snaps, posting 87 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown catch. Apparently, Bonnafon re-aggravated the high ankle sprain that him on the practice squad injured reserve list earlier in the year.
The players who stand to benefit the most from this news are rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and running back Trenton Cannon, who will backup Davis on Sunday.
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