Panthers Injury Report & Transactions – Week 4

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Saahdiq Charles #77 of the Washington Commanders takes the field prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at FedExField on September 24, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Carolina Panthers front office is busy throughout the season with transactions, roster moves, and injury updates. Here's what's happening at Mint Street this week.

Injuries

While the injuries to cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, both of whom have been moved to injured reserve, don't appear on this week's formal injury report, there are a lot of banged-up Panthers this week. While the Friday injury report hasn't been released today with game statuses for each player, here are the key players to monitor:

Jalen Coker, WR - Did not practice Wednesday and was limited on Thursday with a quad issue.

Xavier Legette, WR - Missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday due to his knee.

Damien Lewis, OG - Sat out practice on Wednesday and Thursday with an elbow injury.

Monroe Freeling, OT - Missed Wednesday's practice with a concussion, but was a limited participant on Thursday.

Lee Hunter, DT - The Panthers second round rookie popped up as a limited participant in Thursday's practice.

Transactions

With all of the injuries, the Panthers were busy this week with signings, releases, and a host of changes to the practice squad. Here's what you need to know about the most noteworthy transactions from the last week:

Placed CBs Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson on injured reserve. This is about as big of a blow as the Panthers could endure. Hopefully both of them get healthy and can return later this year, but Carolina's secondary is going to be stretched extremely thin in the interim.

Waived LB Claudin Cherelus with an injury settlement. The Panthers waived Cherelus during his fourth season with the team after suffering a shoulder injury earlier in the season. He appeared in 35 games for the Panthers with 61 tackles between playing both defense and special teams.

Signed G Torricelli Simpkins to the active roster from the practice squad. Simpkins played the 2024 college season for South Carolina before signing last year as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints. He appeared in 15 games with two starts for the Saints last year, playing 179 offensive snaps. He was released after the 2025 season, signed with the Panthers practice squad in September, and is now on the active roster.

Signed G Saahdiq Charles to the practice squad. Charles was a fourth round pick back in 2020 by Washington where he appeared in 35 games and played nearly 1,200 offensive snaps. After briefly retiring in 2024, he signed with Carolina last year and in two games played 10 special teams snaps. Carolina signed him to a reserve/future contract in January 2026, waived him with an injury settlement in August, and have now re-signed him to the practice squad.

Signed CB Robert Rochell to the practice squad. To help deal with the injuries to cornerbacks, the Panthers added veteran Robert Rochell to the practice squad. The 2021 fourth round pick has appeared in 54 career games with 30 tackles, playing primarily special teams. He appeared in four games for the Panthers in 2025, playing 33 special teams snaps.

Signed OLB Cam Gill to the practice squad. Gill entered the league in 2020 and has appeared in 50 games with 51 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He played for the Panthers in 2024, recording 22 tackles over 10 games.

Signed OL Isaia Glass to the practice squad. The undrafted rookie from Arizona State, Oklahoma State, and Vanderbilt spent the preseason with the Panthers, got waived at roster cuts, and has bounced around Carolina's practice squad all year. He has yet to appear in a game.

Additional transactions:

Waived LB Maema Njongmeta

Released G Chandler Zavala from the practice squad