Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Panthers RB Miles Sanders earned his highest PFF grade of the season for his efficient Week 14 performance.
The Carolina Panthers recorded a grand total of zero touchdowns in their 28-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. But, in a bit of a surprise, a few of their offensive players impressed the film buffs.
Oh, and some didn’t.
Here are the best and worst Pro Football Focus grades from the Week 14 defeat:
How did Panthers CB Jaycee Horn fare in the first game back from his hamstring injury?
The Carolina Panthers welcomed a handful of key defenders back against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. But how did they factor into the eventual 21-18 loss?
Here are the top takeaways from Week 13’s snap counts:
Panthers CB Jaycee Horn and OLB Yetur Gross-Matos are expected to start in their returns this afternoon.
Jaycee Horn is all the way back.
The Carolina Panthers announced that the third-year cornerback will get the start on Sunday in his return from a hamstring injury. Horn, who has not played since the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, was officially activated to the roster on Saturday.
Horn is expected to be joined in the starting lineup by outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos, who was also activated from a hamstring injury yesterday. Safety Jeremy Chinn, who missed the last five games with a quadriceps issue, should be making his return as well.
Carolina will, however, be without a few key names. Unsurprisingly, tight ends Hayden Hurst (concussion) and Tommy Tremble (hip) as well as safety Vonn Bell (shoulder) will be sidelined.
Here is the full list of inactives for the Panthers in Week 13:
And as for the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
[lawrence-related id=686492,686488,686405]
Jaycee Horn, Jeremy Chinn and Yetur Gross-Matos are all expected to be back for the Panthers on Sunday.
The reinforcements have arrived!
Ok, maybe it’s a little late to talk about “reinforcements” at 1-10, but the Carolina Panthers brought back a handful of key players on Saturday.
The team announced they have activated cornerback Jaycee Horn, safety Jeremy Chinn and outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos—all of whom are expected to play in today’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Carolina also called upon a pair of practice squad members for the NFC South clash. Guard Justin McCray and defensive lineman Chris Wormley, who will be making his second straight trip up, were elevated as well.
So, let’s take a look at the Panthers roster heading into the Week 13 matchup:
In addition to getting a trio of key defenders back, the Panthers elevated a pair of linemen for their Week 13 visit to see the Buccaneers.
As expected, the Carolina Panthers officially activated a trio of key defenders on Saturday—cornerback Jaycee Horn, safety Jeremy Chinn and outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos. But they weren’t the only players who got called on this afternoon.
The Panthers also announced that they’ve elevated two players from their practice squad—offensive lineman Justin McCray and defensive lineman Chris Wormley—for Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both are standard elevations.
McCray, a free-agent signee from this past spring, has spent the much of the campaign as a member of the practice squad. He’s appeared in two games thus far, in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints and in Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins—where he recorded four snaps at right guard.
With the Panthers missing Brady Christensen, Austin Corbett and Chandler Zavala for the remainder of the season, McCray will serve as some much-needed depth for the interior offensive line.
Wormley will be making his second consecutive trip up to the game-day roster. Week 12 marked his return to the NFL field after tearing his ACL last season.
[lawrence-related id=686405,686423,686416]
According to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers are expected to activate S Jeremy Chinn today.
Jaycee Horn probably won’t be the only defensive back the Carolina Panthers are getting . . . um . . . back.
According to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, safety Jeremy Chinn is expected to be activated from injured reserve today. If so, he’ll likely join Horn—who is also reportedly headed back to the active roster—before Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chinn has not played since the Panthers’ Week 6 trip to see the Miami Dolphins. He sustained a quadriceps injury in the loss, which landed him on the shelf as the team entered its Week 7 bye.
The 2023 campaign has been an awkward one for the fourth-year vet, who has struggled to achieve consistent playing time under first-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Chinn played in just 52.2 percent of Carolina’s defensive snaps through six games—a considerable drop from his 90.7 percent in 2022, 98.9 percent in 2021 and 97 percent in 2020.
Chinn was designated to return from injured reserve on Nov. 22.
Kaye also reports that the Panthers are expected to activate outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos as well. Gross-Matos, unlike Chinn, was thriving in the new defense before being sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The former second-round pick had recorded 2.5 sacks—one off his career-high—over his six outings.
[lawrence-related id=686440,686405,686416]
The Panthers have designated S Jeremy Chinn to return from injured reserve.
Well, at least the Carolina Panthers experienced a bit of good news on the injury front this afternoon.
Shortly after placing both starting right guard Austin Corbett and cornerback Dicaprio Bootle on injured reserve, the Panthers announced that they have designated safety Jeremy Chinn to return from the shelf. Chinn, who’s working his way back from a quadriceps injury, is now eligible to practice and will have 21 days to get back to the active roster.
Chinn was moved to injured reserve back on Oct. 24, alongside outside linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos and tight end Giovanni Ricci. He has since missed the last four games.
Unfortunately for Chinn, he was not heavily featured in the six games he did play in—at least compared to the first three seasons of his NFL career. The former second-round pick appeared in 52 percent of the defense’s snaps—a steep decline from his 97 percent in 2020, 99 percent in 2021 and 91 percent in 2022.
Chinn totaled 23 combined tackles before the injury.
[lawrence-related id=685649,685637,685602]
The “lack of an appetite” from the NFL’s contenders may have contributed to the Panthers’ inactivity at the trade deadline.
There may have been no demand for the Carolina Panthers’ supply.
This year’s trade deadline came and went without a peep from general manager Scott Fitterer and company, as the Panthers stood pat and did not make a deal. And that, according to Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer, that may have been a result of a cold market.
He wrote on Tuesday evening:
Silence from New England, Carolina and Denver reflects, to me, a very short supply of buyers this year. I’ll dig this week into why it played out that way, because there were opportunities out there for teams that wanted to take a swing or two. In the end, there simply wasn’t a great appetite on the part of contenders to pick up the bat.
Breer also reported, nearly three weeks back, that the Panthers were listening to offers on a handful of players. That group included wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., cornerback Donte Jackson, safety Jeremy Chinn and, to a much more complicated degree, outside linebacker Brian Burns.
But, unlike last year, the buyers weren’t buying what Carolina may have been selling.
[lawrence-related id=684113,684149,684128]
NFL Network insider Mike Garofolo: Unless something changes, sounds like it’s gonna be a quiet deadline day in Carolina.
Well, maybe something hasn’t come up for general manager Scott Fitterer, head coach Frank Reich and the Carolina Panthers over the last 24 hours.
According to NFL Network insider Mike Garofolo, the Panthers are not likely to make a move before today’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.
“It is quiet right now in Carolina,” Garofolo stated on Tuesday’s episode of The Insiders. “So something would really have to heat up for the Panthers to make a move. They did have that offer for Brian Burns last year—with regards to two first-round picks from the Rams as well as a little bit more on top of that, which would’ve been quite the haul. Still surprised that they turned that one down.
“So no indication that he is in any position to be moved right now. Unless something changes, sounds like it’s gonna be a quiet deadline day in Carolina.”
After a disappointing start to their 2023 campaign, the Panthers were viewed as possible sellers throughout the month of October. In addition to Burns, some rumored trade candidates included cornerback Donte Jackson, safety Jeremy Chinn and wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.—who had been granted permission to seek a swap.
But, with the clock ticking away, it seems like there’s no deal for Fitterer to be in on at the moment.
[lawrence-related id=684128,684108,684092]
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, teams are being told that Panthers OLB Brian Burns is not available via trade.
Charlotte’s Spider-Man may not be going far from home. In fact, he may not be going anywhere at all.
According to ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, the Carolina Panthers are telling teams that outside linebacker Brian Burns is not up for grabs. So, with the trade deadline now less than a week away, it feels as though the two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher is highly unlikely to be moved.
Burns is currently playing on his fifth-year option without a contract extension in hand. Carolina’s inability to ink their 25-year-old star to a long-term pact, while starting out at an NFL-worst 0-6 record, may have hungry contenders sniffing blood in the water.
Nonetheless, Burns is seemingly sitting tight, at least for now.
As for who could be on the move from Carolina, Graziano’s colleague and fellow ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler mentions several names in the very same article. Fowler notes that wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., who was granted permission to seek a trade last week, is available while defensive backs Donte Jackson and Jeremy Chinn may garner enough interest to inspire a deal.
The Panthers have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to strike any swaps.
[lawrence-related id=683663,683616,683457]
