The Carolina Panthers are expected to use their seventh different starting offensive line combination in nine games this season, as injuries continue to impact the roster. Head coach Dave Canales confirmed that Brady Christensen is out for the year with a torn Achilles and underwent surgery on Wednesday. Center Cade Mays is also not expected to play this week due to knee and ankle issues, while right tackle Taylor Moton remains uncertain but has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. If Moton cannot play, veteran Yosh Nijman will start at right tackle.
Austin Corbett is likely to return to center, a position he played earlier in the season, with Chandler Zavala potentially joining him after returning from injury. Canales commented on Zavala’s progress: “His progression was exactly as planned. He was moving with high speeds, changing direction and all that, and he looked great out there today.”
Despite these changes, Corbett emphasized the advantage of having continuity among teammates: “Not familiar at all,” he said about frequent lineup changes in his career. “A lot of times when you start racking up injuries, you’re signing guys off practice squads, right, making trades, kind of doing that thing. And so for pieces just be able to come in here that we’ve played with many games before. We have many reps together. It’s tremendous and it’s really just a credit to this front office of getting that done.”
The Panthers managed to keep their top nine blockers from last year intact despite several players landing on injured reserve throughout the current season.
“It’s a brutal sport, especially being in the trenches, things happen,” Corbett said. “And so to keep the same personnel, keep the same people, keep that communication alive just makes it easy. Unfortunately we’re in this situation of having to move pieces around, and so we’re able to step in and just go get it done.”
Head coach Canales noted last week’s seven-sack performance was an exception caused by multiple linemen leaving mid-game; otherwise, the team had not allowed more than three sacks per game and ranks fifth in league rushing.
“It kind of times up well for us to have that help inside and to have Austin Corbett in here to be able to step in for Cade,” Canales said. “It feels like we’re going to be able to put our best group out there that we can, to give us a chance to win.
“It’s a tribute to the guys working themselves to get back, the athletic training staff doing a great job… using all the information that we have at our disposal with analytics… physical therapy… coaches getting these guys prepared… So I do feel a lot of comfort knowing that we have these guys stepping back in who know what to do, know how to do it.”
Injury updates provided by Canales include Christensen’s pending placement on injured reserve and uncertainty regarding Mays’ availability this week. Moton’s knee injury received what Canales described as “good news.” Rookie outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen is expected not to play; linebacker Trevin Wallace (shoulder) and safety Nick Scott (groin) are day-to-day but did not practice Wednesday.
Backup quarterback Andy Dalton missed practice after injuring his thumb during last week’s game against Buffalo; his status will be monitored through the week. Starting quarterback Bryce Young practiced fully despite an ankle issue but had some modifications made during Wednesday’s shortened session.
Regarding running backs Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle—both 1,000-yard rushers—Canales acknowledged ongoing discussions about sharing playing time: “It’s a fair observation… Chuba has meant a lot… certainly [to] the identity we want… wanted [him] …to continue impacting our team positively.
“We cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional…” Dowdle rushed for 389 yards over two games when Hubbard was sidelined earlier this season; recently both backs have split series almost evenly.
By midweek coaches communicated their rotation plan for Sunday’s matchup against Green Bay but chose not disclose details publicly yet: “We had a lot of conversations and we’ll roll that out on Sunday,” Canales told reporters.
With one of only four Week 14 byes across NFL teams—the latest possible—Carolina began preparing early for an extended stretch without rest following release of its schedule last May.
“Yeah there’s pros and cons…” said Canales about managing such timing through consistent routines each week while incorporating periodic reflection sessions led by player leadership council every four weeks.
“So we’ve taken advantage of [quarterly planning] …so we can dive back in… see who are performing… concepts performing well…”
Despite efforts at preparation fatigue remains an issue as players await their bye five weeks away: “But right now we have …to modify little things …make sure we’re physically strong on Sundays…”
