Stantley Thomas-Oliver III – Page 2

Panthers Week 10 injury report: DE Brian Burns questionable vs. Cardinals

Panthers DE Brian Burns was a full participant in Friday’s practice and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.

The Carolina Panthers may or may not have Superman in uniform on Sunday. Funnily enough, the same can also be said about Spiderman.

Spidey-sensed defensive end Brian Burns has officially been listed as questionable for the Week 10 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. His full participation on Friday, however, is a solid sign that the Panthers will have their stud pass rusher on deck for the potent Kyler Murray-led offense.

Burns, in what’s become a highly-publicized incident, had his foot grabbed and twisted by New England Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones this past week. The third-year defender would exit the 24-6 loss later on in the contest with a sprained ankle.

Here’s the final injury report heading into the weekend:

	Injury	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Game status
DE Brian Burns	Foot	DNP	Limited	Full	Questionable
QB Sam Darnold	Right shoulder	DNP	DNP	–	–
LB Frankie Luvu	Knee	DNP	Limited	Limited	Questionable
CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III	Toe	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
CB Rashaan Melvin	Hand	Limited	Limited	Limited	Out
CB C.J. Henderson	Shoulder	Full	Full	Full	–
LB Shaq Thompson	Knee	Full	Full	Full	–
LB Jermaine Carter Jr.	Groin	Full	Full	Full	–
CB Stephon Gilmore	Quad	–	Limited	Limited	–
DE Marquis Haynes Sr.	Foot	–	Full	Full	–

Carolina will, for sure, be without a pair of corners in Thomas-Oliver III and Melvin. According to head coach Matt Rhule, Henderson will be in play to help fortify the injured secondary.

Given their lack of game statuses—Thompson, Carter Jr. and Gilmore should also all be good to go for the unit.

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Carolina Panthers QB Sam Darnold remains limited in Thursday practice

Panthers QB Sam Darnold was still limited on Thursday as he continues to deal with a concussion and a right shoulder injury.

Thursday didn’t see much change across the board for the Carolina Panthers. That board, of course, includes the very uncertain statuses of quarterback Sam Darnold and running back Christian McCaffrey.

Darnold, who exited Week 8’s win against the Atlanta Falcons with a concussion, remained limited in his activity during today’s practice. He’s also dealing with a right shoulder issue that may add to the difficulty in returning on time for Sunday’s matchup with the New England Patriots.

McCaffrey, again, was kept largely under wraps throughout the session. He hit the stationary bike and participated in team stretches.

The rest of the report reads out pretty cleanly.

	Injury	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Game status
CB C.J. Henderson	Shoulder	Full	Full
LB Shaq Thompson	Foot	Limited	Full
WR Terrace Marshall Jr.	Concussion	Full	–
T Cameron Erving	Knee	Full	Full
C Matt Paradis	Knee	Full	Full
CB Stephon Gilmore	Quad	Full	Full
QB Sam Darnold	Concussion/Right shoulder	Limited	Limited
LB Jermaine Carter Jr.	Ankle	Full	Full
CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III	Toe	Limited	DNP
G Pat Elflein	Hamstring	–	Full

Guard Pat Elflein, one day after being moved back to the active roster, was added to the report as a full-go. Cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver III was the only Panther not to participate, presumably taking a step back with his toe injury.

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Panthers injury update: DB Myles Hartsfield to miss 8-12 weeks

The Panthers are losing a versatile piece in DB Myles Hartsfield for a good chunk of the season.

Confirming an earlier report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told reporters on Monday that defensive back Myles Hartsfield will miss an extended period of time due to the wrist injury he sustained in the Week 1 victory over the New York Jets.

Hartsfield exited the game midway through the second half and did not return. The injury, according to Rhule, will likely be “a surgical matter.”

Any injury is unfortunate and of ill-timing. But the absence of Hartsfield, especially with A.J. Bouye still out due to suspension and the New Orleans Saints on deck for Week 2, will undoubtedly hamper the team’s secondary.

The second-year defensive back has been a versatile piece for Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow. Carolina will now have to pinpoint its next man up, particularly in nickel coverage, to help replace Hartsfield for what’ll be a huge chunk of the season.

Look for Stantley Thomas-Oliver III and/or newly-signed practice squad member and familiar face Corn Elder to be of the early options.

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Panthers finalize initial 2021 53-man roster

A summer’s worth of evaluations and a few days’ worth of departures has left us with this, the initial 53-man roster of the 2021 Carolina Panthers.

Just 15 minutes before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET, the Carolina Panthers made their final move to reach the 53-man roster limit. That casualty comes at the expense of running back Rodney Smith, who the team has now waived.

So, after a summer’s worth of evaluations and a few days’ worth of cuts, here were are. This is the Panthers’ initial 53-man roster heading into the 2021 regular season:

Quarterbacks (2): Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker

Running backs (3): Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, Trenton Cannon

Fullback (1): Giovanni Ricci

Wide receivers (6) : DJ Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., David Moore, Brandon Zylstra, Shi Smith

Tight ends (4): Dan Arnold, Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble, Colin Thompson

Offensive line (9): Cameron Erving, Pat Elflein, Matt Paradis, John Miller, Taylor Moton, Trent Scott, Dennis Daley, Brady Christensen, Deonte Brown

Defensive line (10): Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, DaQuan Jones, Morgan Fox, Yetur Gross-Matos, Marquis Haynes, Darryl Johnson, Daviyon Nixon, Bravvion Roy, Phil Hoskins

Linebackers (6):Shaq Thompson, Jermaine Carter Jr., Haason Reddick, Frankie Luvu, Julian Stanford, Clay Johnston

Defensive backs (9): Donte Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Jeremy Chinn, Juston Burris, Keith Taylor, Myles Hartsfield, Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, Sam Franklin, Sean Chandler

Specialists (3): Ryan Santoso, Joseph Charlton, J.J. Jansen

Obviously, the roster is subject to change leading up to their Week 1 matchup with the New York Jets. There will be plenty of players who were let go elsewhere that may pique the braintrust’s interest.

But until then, these are your first 53, Carolina.

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Panthers who benefited most from Tuesday’s roster cutdown

As six are headed out, which Panthers are now headed up after Tuesday’s roster adjustments?

The Carolina Panthers did some shaving down just ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline in order to hit the league’s mandated 85-man roster limit. In fact, they even got down to 84 just for good measure.

Ok, maybe not for “good measure,” but for good reason, as the season-ending injury to cornerback Troy Pride Jr. was a departure that was perhaps a bit premature. He and five others, as of now, are no longer active members of roster and, as weird is it may be to lay this down, that helps out a few men who are still around.

4 Panthers to watch in preseason kickoff against Colts

Second-year CB Troy Pride Jr. will be amongst those looking to stand out for the Panthers’ preseason opener on Sunday in Indianapolis.

You were probably excited to see some of your favorite Carolina Panthers take the field today, even if for a series or two, in their first preseason contest of 2021. But, being that head coach Matt Rhule has ruled out the prospect of rolling out much of his starting unit, you’ll have to dig a little deeper for players to watch.

So, we’ll help you out. (You’re very welcome)

Here are four guys who will be worth keeping an eye in Indianapolis on Sunday.

Carolina Panthers 53-man roster projection: Training camp edition

Some players are showing out for the Carolina Panthers in training camp, making the team’s decision on their final 53-man roster increasingly tough.

The Carolina Panthers have released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2021 season. And you know what that means . . . Yes! More speculation!

So, off the heels of our previous 53-man projection back at OTAs, here is our latest forecast in the midst of the team’s training camp activities.

Panthers 2021 training camp: 4 under-the-radar players to watch on defense

The Panthers defense developed a lot late in the 2020 season.

The Carolina Panthers defense developed a lot late in the 2020 season. That growth down the stretch plus the addition of a few new faces has brought out a bit of hype for this unit for the first time in several years.

During training camp, we’ll hear a lot about guys like Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn and rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn. For now, let’s take a look at a few under-the-radar defensive players heading into camp.

Giants select Tristan Wirfs in The Athletic’s seven-round mock draft

The New York Giants land Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs and a ton of other talent in The Athletic’s seven-round mock draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is now less than two weeks away and some of the top publicans are beginning to finalize their mock drafts.

Among them is Dane Brugler of The Athletic, who released version 5.0 of his mock draft on Monday. And while a window was left open for the possibility of one more version between now and the draft, he acknowledges that the likelihood of another seven-round draft is slim-to-none.

So, what does Brugler have the New York Giants doing? He starts their draft off with Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.

The Giants’ decision could come down to their highest-ranked tackle or a defensive playmaker like Isaiah Simmons. One of the reasons I think they will lean toward tackle is the impact that will make on other recent first-round picks like Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones.

And here are the Giants’ next nine picks:

36. New York Giants – A.J. Epenesa, Edge, Iowa
99. New York Giants – Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina
110. New York Giants – Kenny Robinson, FS, XFL
150. New York Giants – Keith Ismael, OC, San Diego State
183. New York Giants – Evan Weaver, LB, California
218. New York Giants – Rodrigo Blankenship, PK, Georgia
238. New York Giants (from NO) – Jared Pinkney, TE, Vanderbilt
247. New York Giants – Rico Dowdle, RB, South Carolina
255. New York Giants – Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, CB, FIU

Brugler also offered the following commentary for the Bryan Edwards pick:

Out of sight and out of mind – unfortunately that has been the theme of Edwards’ draft process after injuries sidelined him for the Senior Bowl and combine. But teams know what type of competitor he is after his record-setting career for the Gamecocks.

There’s a lot to digest here, but Brugler essentially has the Giants addressing every major area of need, every secondary area of need and then some in this mock draft.

Kenny Robinson would be the first XFL player drafted in this scenario, while the Giants also land the best kicker — Rodrigo Blankenship — to compete with Aldrick Rosas.

How would you feel about this draft haul, Giants fans?

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