Injuries Heading into Panthers Crucial Week Five
Injuries continue to rise heading into the crucial Week Five for the Panthers. The Panthers take on the 1-3 Miami Dolphins at home. A battle of 1-3 teams, both teams have struggled tremendously to start their seasons. The Panthers desperately need another win, especially at home. Unfortunately, the injuries continue to mount, leaving significant gaps in some of the most crucial roles.
The offensive line continues to take hits, with the latest casualty adding to the tally. The Panthers placed backup guard Chandler Zavala on IR. Already down Pro Bowl guard Robert Hunt and starting center Austin Corbett, the Panthers' guard depth is depleted at this point. Zavala was playing well enough to justify his position in the starting lineup.
To make matters worse, star running back Chuba Hubbard has been declared out. Hubbard is a vital part of the offense, and his presence will be sorely missed. Hubbard recently had his first 1,000-yard rushing season and is a central spark plug for the offense. While being the team's leading rusher, he is also a safety blanket for quarterback Bryce Young. Hubbard currently ranks 10th amongst running backs for targets with 17. Rico Dowdle will get his chance to shine against a soft defense, but he still has an uphill battle with the current state of the offensive line.
Starting tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders is out another week. In his place, Tommy Tremble and rookie Mitchell Evans have picked up his targets. Both of them have played well with Tremble, the de facto first tight end. Wider receiver David Moore has been put on IR, another blow to an already fickle receiving room. With no clear second wide receiver at this moment, the role is still wide open. One would believe that Xavier Legette’s return firmly places him in that role, but he has been lackluster to say the least. In place of Moore, rookie seventh-round pick Jimmy Horn gets his first reps of the season.
Most of these injuries couldn’t come at a worse time. The team is in a win-now situation with an owner who is not afraid to make changes looming overhead. Sunday holds the answers for how the rest of the season will go. After a big win in Week Three, the team lost all momentum in Week Four.
