Panthers Make Handful Of Moves

The Moton and Wharton moves were expected, as head coach Dave Canales announced Monday they would return to practice. Those two have been the season on reserve/NFI and reserve/PUP, respectively, while Etienne landed on IR with an ankle injury when the Panthers finalized their initial 53-man roster on Aug. 30. The Panthers designated Etienne and linebacker Bam Martin-Scott to return then, leaving them with six remaining IR activations for the regular season.

As a rookie fourth-rounder last year, offensive touches were hard to come by for Etienne. Stuck behind Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard on the depth chart, he finished with 94 yards on just 20 carries. On the other hand, with a club-high 51 returns (31 kickoffs, 20 punts), Etienne was a big contributor on special teams.

While the Etienne-less Panthers opened the season with Jimmy Horn handling returns, they cut him after he muffed a punt in a Week 1 loss to the Bears. David Moore and Anthony Tyus have been the Panthers’ returners in their past couple of games, but Etienne could factor in again there and give the team a third healthy back to join Hubbard and AJ Dillon. Jonathon Brooks underwent core muscle surgery in late September and may not come off IR until November.

The Panthers will not take the full 21 days to activate Etienne, who Canales said will be ready to play in Philadelphia this Sunday (via Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer). Unfortunately, though, Jackson will not take the field again this year. He will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, per Mike Kaye of ESPN. Jackson, a 2025 fifth-rounder, played one game and made two tackles this year.