The Carolina Panthers were posed with a case of “Take ’em or leave ’em” on Wednesday. So, they took ’em.
As first reported by Darin Gantt of Panthers.com, the team will be moving guard Pat Elflein to the active 53-man roster. Had they not made the decision to do so today, the fifth-year lineman would’ve been lost for the rest of 2021.
The Panthers are, in fact, activating G Pat Elflein to the 53-man roster today. If they didn’t do it now, he’d be out for the year. They’re likely to stick with the current starting guards for the moment, but his experience and versatility is valuable to them.
Roster now at 51.
— Darin Gantt (@daringantt) November 3, 2021
The 21-day window to move Elflein, who was designated to return off the injured reserve three weeks ago, was closing up. Per league rules, he automatically would have been reverted to a season-ending stay on the IR had he not added to the roster.
Elflein signed a three-year, $13.5 million deal with the Panthers this past offseason. He played in a pair of games before sustaining a hamstring injury in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints.
As Gantt notes, it’s unlikely Elflein reenters the fold as the starting left guard this Sunday in the matchup with the New England Patriots. Expect Michael Jordan to remain apart of the unit, one that allowed zero sacks in the 19-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
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