The Carolina Panthers third injured player from Thursday nights Week 3, 24-9 victory over the Houston Texans went on injured reserve on Tuesday.
As announced by the organization, strong safety Juston Burris has been placed on the IR list. He will miss at least the next three games while recovering from a groin injury.
Burris is the second starting defensive back to be placed on the self in the last two days. Rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn, who was the No. 8 pick in this springs NFL draft, was officially put on the list Monday. He will miss an unknown amount of time following surgery to repair three broken bones in his right foot.
To help the Panthers’ depth, center Sam Tecklenburg has been brought up from the practice squad. He will provide an extra body behind starting center Matt Paradis, and a line that is already without its starting left guard Pat Elfein.
Filling in on the practice squad for Tecklenburg will be cornerback Madre Harper. He was signed Tuesday. Harper played in nine games for the New York Giants last season in his rookie year.
Now for some good news on the injury front. The Panthers took a sigh of relief with Monday’s trade for cornerback C.J. Henderson. They also took an additional one for their superstar running back.
When speaking to the assembled media on Monday, although mainly about Henderson, head coach Matt Rhule gave an update on Christian McCaffrey’s injury status. He was very optimistic that the team does not anticipate having to place him on the IR moving forward.
“Christian won’t go on IR,” he said. “I would expect that we put Jaycee [Horn] at some point this week. Scott [Fitterer] will handle that. Jaycee will obviously have surgery and be out for a while. And Christian, we don’t see in that light.”
Although the news about Horn was disappointing, it was expected as stated previously. McCaffrey, unlike Horn, is not expected to miss much time with his strained hamstring. Rhule also thought on Monday that Burris would be back in “a couple of weeks’, but that has also changed.
In addition to trading for Henderson, the Panthers signed cornerback Rashaan Melvin off the practice squad and onto the active 53-man roster. Melvin has played a backup role in each of the last two games for a total of 62 defensive reps against the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans.
