Tag: Ikem Ekwonu

Panthers Week 17 inactives: Jaycee Horn active vs. Jaguars

LT Ikem Ekwonu, LB Frankie Luvu and CB Jaycee Horn are all active for the Panthers on New Year’s Eve.

Entering Week 17 of his third NFL season, Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn missed a combined 28 of a possible 49 games due to injury. But, as it turns out, a bothersome toe will not result in No. 29.

Horn, who was listed as questionable for the New Year’s Eve showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars, is officially active. After going down as a non-participant for practice sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday, the former eighth overall pick returned in a limited capacity on Friday.

He should be joined on the field today by left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (quad) and linebacker Frankie Luvu (foot)—both of whom were also classified as questionable for the contest.

Here’s who won’t be in uniform for the Panthers:

  • CB Troy Hill
  • CB CJ Henderson
  • OT Ricky Lee
  • G Ilm Manning
  • WR Mike Strachan
  • WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
  • DL Chris Wormley

And as for the host Jaguars, who will be without a pretty important player under center:

  • OLB Yasir Abdullah
  • DT Angelo Blackson
  • WR Zay Jones
  • QB Trevor Lawrence
  • OL Cole Van Lanen

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Key matchups for Panthers vs. Jaguars in Week 17

Panthers WR DJ Chark is swimming into familiar waters fresh off his best outing of the season.

How will Sunday’s catfight between the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars pan out?

Here are four battles within in the fight that’ll help decide who comes out on top:

Panthers Week 17 injury report: 3 key starters questionable vs. Jaguars

The Panthers have listed LT Ikem Ekwonu, LB Frankie Luvu and CB Jaycee Horn as questionable for their Week 17 matchup against the Jaguars.

The Carolina Panthers couldn’t get a single full practice out of a pretty important trio of starters this week. But interim head coach Chris Tabor seems positive about their statuses entering the weekend.

Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (foot), linebacker Frankie Luvu (quadriceps) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (toe) have all been listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tabor, after Friday’s practice, was asked if he feels good about their chances of playing.

“I do,” he replied. “They took some reps today, so we’ll see where it’s at come game day.”

Cornerback Troy Hill, however, won’t be in uniform at EverBank Stadium. The team’s top slot defender has been ruled out due to a concussion.

Here is the final injury report for Week 17:

Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
CB Troy Hill Concussion DNP DNP DNP Out
OT Ikem Ekwonu Foot DNP Limited Limited Questionable
CB Jaycee Horn Toe DNP DNP Limited Questionable
LB Frankie Luvu Quad DNP Limited Limited Questionable
WR Adam Thielen Rest DNP –
RB Chuba Hubbard Hamstring Limited Limited Full –
CB Donte Jackson Ankle Limited Full Full –
G Cade Mays Ankle Full Full Full –
RB Miles Sanders Toe Full Full Full –
TE Tommy Tremble Back Full Full Full –
OLB Marquis Haynes Sr. Back DNP Limited Full Questionable
OT Taylor Moton Knee/rest DNP Limited Full –
OLB Claudin Cherelus Knee Limited Full Full –
TE Stephen Sullivan Wrist Full Full Full –
G Nash Jensen Back Full Full –

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Panthers keep out handful of starters from Wednesday’s practice

A handful of Panthers starters did not participate in the opening practice of Week 17.

We’re now in Week 17, and the Carolina Panthers’ initial injury report certainly shows it.

A total of seven players were kept out of the first official practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Among those who were absent included left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (foot), right tackle Taylor Moton (knee/rest), wide receiver Adam Thielen (rest), linebacker Frankie Luvu (quad) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (toe).

Also out was cornerback Troy Hill, who is currently in concussion protocol after exiting the Week 16 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Here’s the full injury report from Wednesday:

Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
CB Troy Hill Concussion DNP
OT Ikem Ekwonu Foot DNP
CB Jaycee Horn Toe DNP
LB Frankie Luvu Quad DNP
WR Adam Thielen Rest DNP
RB Chuba Hubbard Hamstring Limited
CB Donte Jackson Ankle Limited
G Cade Mays Ankle Full
RB Miles Sanders Toe Full
TE Tommy Tremble Back Full
OLB Marquis Haynes Sr. Back DNP
OT Taylor Moton Knee/rest DNP
OLB Claudin Cherelus Knee Limited
TE Stephen Sullivan Wrist Full

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4 key matchups for Panthers vs. Cowboys in Week 11

Donte Jackson has been playing some of the best ball of his career lately. The Panthers will need more of it on Sunday against the Cowboys.

Let’s just be straight up—the Carolina Panthers will need a lot of factors to fall in their favor to pull off an upset on Sunday. Heck, we’ll even give you four as we head into kickoff later this afternoon.

Here are the key matchups for the Week 11 clash with the Dallas Cowboys:

Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ Week 10 loss to Bears

CB Donte Jackson recorded the Panthers’ highest single-game PFF grade of the season in Thursday night’s loss to the Bears.

Is there a bright side to the Carolina Panthers’ most embarrassing loss of the season? Well, if you’re into Pro Football Focus grades, especially for cornerbacks, then you’ll find some much-needed sunshine today.

Here are the team’s best and worst marks from the 16-13 defeat to the Chicago Bears:

Frank Reich talks about recent struggles of Ikem Ekwonu

Panthers HC Frank Reich talked about the second-year struggles of LT Ikem Ekwonu.

Carolina Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has taken some steps back this season—literally and figuratively.

Sunday’s triumphant outing against the Houston Texans came in spite of an underwhelming performance by the team’s offensive line, which allowed six sacks and 10 hits of quarterback Bryce Young. Ekwonu was the weakest link of the unit, as defensive end Jonathan Greenard pushed the 320-pound hog molly back en route to a dominant performance off the edge.

Head coach Frank Reich spoke a bit about the outing on Monday.

“Certainly the protection can be better,” Reich said. “But I thought a couple of the sacks—the protection was good and they were coverage sacks. Probably two or three of those I would put it more in the category of coverage sacks—that we gotta do a better job of givin’ patterns as coaches, givin’ a better pattern where guys are gettin’ open, and then receivers need to do their job to get open.”

Reich was then asked to elaborate specifically on Ekwonu’s Week 8 performance, which was just the latest bump in what’s been a rough sophomore campaign for the 22-year-old.

“Hey, Ickey’s a great player,” he replied. “He had one or two struggles in the past game. But same thing, he’s like every other player on the team. There was a couple bad plays and then there were a lot of good plays. We’re confident in Ickey and the player that he is. So, we’ll learn from it and get better.”

Ekwonu, per Pro Football Focus, allowed a team-high five pressures of Young—two of which registered as sacks. The 2022 sixth overall pick has now been charged with five sacks through seven games, just one fewer than he relinquished all of last year.

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Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ Week 8 win over Texans

Bryce Young’s winning performance in Week 8 yielded his highest PFF grade yet.

Do the Pro Football Focus grades feel any better after a win? Well, let’s see.

Here are the Carolina Panthers’ best and worst grades from their Week 8 victory over the Houston Texans: