Dave Canales delivers tough news on return timelines for Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt

Fresh off their first win of the 2025 season, the Carolina Panthers have provided injury updates on a pair of starting offensive linemen, Austin Corbett and Robert Hunt.

Head coach Dave Canales revealed that Hunt had successful surgery on his biceps injury and is out indefinitely. Canales wouldn't rule out a late-season return for Hunt.

"Rob's surgery was successful and it was to repair the biceps tendon and it's going to be a long time," Canales said of Hunt, according to Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer.

"We're looking at maybe end of the season type of return, but again that's all going to depend on how his recovery process is."

As for Corbett, he is not going to have surgery on his MCL injury and is instead going to rehab. Canales estimates he could be out six to eight weeks, but left the door open for a return earlier than that.

"Austin did not have surgery right now, he's rehabbing that (knee injury)," he said of Corbett. "I guess the number I got was six to eight weeks, in that range. But different guys heal at different rates and he's had similar injuries before, so I think he has a process and kind of knows how to approach that and attack it and we'll take it week to week."

With Hunt and Corbett absent in Week 3, the Panthers deployed Cade Mays at center and Chandler Zavala at guard.

Mays was spotless in pass protection, as he didn't give up a single sack or pressure in the contest while posting a Pro Football Focus pass protection grade of 83.1. Mays also finished with a PFF run-blocking grade of 58.0.

As for Zavala, he had a few hiccups with a pair of pressures allowed, but he did not surrender a sack.

Zavala did, however, tally the worst pass-blocking grade of all Panthers offensive linemen with a 31.9. His run-blocking was slightly better, coming in at 54.6.