Carolina Panthers: Tuesday injury report ahead of Week 10 matchup vs. Chicago Bears

The Carolina Panthers (1-7) have released their Tuesday injury report, 48 hours prior to their Week 10 road matchup against the Chicago Bears (2-7).

The Panthers have already ruled out star edge rusher Brian Burns (concussion) and cornerback C.J. Henderson (concussion) for Thursday’s game. Burns left the Panthers’ 27-13 Week 9 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts (4-5) Sunday after suffering a concussion following a hard collision. Given Carolina’s quick turnaround on a short week paired with the NFL’s concussion protocol, Burns being inactive for Thursday’s game seemed inevitable.

“He’s our best player. He’s a beast. We’ll miss him, but next man up,” head coach Frank Reich said Monday. “I’m not thinking there’s any chance of getting him, honestly. Even if there were, there’s a part of me that can’t imagine letting him out there even if he wanted to go out there. It’ll be next man up. We move on.”

Burns, 25, leads the Panthers with 5.0 sacks through eight games season, passing Kevin Greene to rank fifth all-time in franchise history in sacks. He’s led the Panthers in sacks in all but two seasons since joining the team, selected No. 16 overall in the first-round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Florida State.

He’s fresh off his best year to date, ending the 2022 season with 63 tackles (34 solo), 17 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hits, all representing career highs for Burns.

Panthers Tuesday injury report

Did not participate:

Brian Burns – Concussion
DJ Chark – Elbow
C.J. Henderson – Concussion
Laviska Shenault – Ankle
Stephen Sullivan – Shoulder
Luiji Vilain – Knee
Xavier Woods – Thigh
Chandler Wooten – Ankle – IR

Full participation:

Vonn Bell – Quadriceps
Raheem Blackshear – Ankle
Ikem Ekwonu – Ankle
Marquis Haynes – Back
Frankie Luvu – Hip
Tommy Tremble – Shoulder

The Panthers’ defense has already struggled this season, and will likely struggle more as their depth at the outside linebacker position continues to be tested. Carolina has one of the league’s best defenses in terms of yards allowed per game, ranking eighth in the NFL. But when it comes to points allowed, they are tied with the Denver Broncos in surrendering the most points per game across the entire league this season.