Advertisement

Panthers place Jaycee Horn on injured reserve, but not Christian McCaffrey

The Carolina Panthers will not put star running back Christian McCaffrey on the injured reserve and instead will wait and see how he recovers from a strained hamstring.

An IR designation keeps a player out for a minimum of three weeks. That McCaffrey won’t be placed on the injured reserve list suggests there’s a possibility he could return at three weeks or sooner.

“I think it’s all going to depend on how quickly he comes around in terms of recovering from it,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “I’ll just trust the doctors and trainers to tell me when he’s ready to go.”

Meanwhile, the Panthers placed rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn on the IR. He’s expected to have surgery after he broke several bones in his foot. Whether the injury is season-ending hasn’t yet been determined, Rhule said. But he didn’t rule out a possibility to return later in the year.

“With Jaycee we have to be really smart about bringing him back, making sure he’s healthy and his return to play is done the right way,” Rhule said. “I can’t predict that right now.”

Rhule also said starting safety Juston Burris, who has a groin injury, will miss one to two weeks.

McCaffrey, Horn and Burris all suffered their injuries in last Thursday’s game against the Texans.

Horn’s injury prompted the Panthers to trade Dan Arnold to Jacksonville for cornerback C.J. Henderson, who was the ninth pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Panthers travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys on Sunday.

Rookie running back Chuba Hubbard will likely start at running back and be spelled by backup Royce Freeman.

Transactions

The Panthers signed cornerback Rashaan Melvin to their 53-man roster to fill Horn’s missing spot. The Panthers initially signed Melvin this past offseason before cutting him.

They re-signed him to their practice squad after Week 1. He was called up in what’s known as a “standard elevation” in each of the past two games. So to bring him back up, the Panthers needed to sign him.

Melvin, 32, has played well in two games. Quarterbacks have completed four of the eight passes thrown his way for 46 yards.