The Panthers will have their top wide receiver for Sunday’s game against the Falcons.
Diontae Johnson was listed as questionable because of an ankle injury that limited him in practice all week, but he is active for the divisional matchup. Johnson has 23 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns so far this season.
Linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, right tackle Taylor Moten, linebacker Josey Jewell, offensive lineman Andrew Raym, and tight end Tommy Tremble were ruled out ahead of the game. Cornerback Shemar Bartholomew and offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston are also inactive.
Linebacker Troy Andersen is out for the Falcons due to a knee injury. Running back Jase McClellan, defensive linemanBrandon Dorlus, offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn, offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson, tackle Brandon Parker, and defensive lineman Kentavius Street are also inactive.
The NFL doesn’t only ban head-first hits to prevent players from injuring their opponents. The league also cracks down on those hits to protect players from injuring themselves.
Case in point, Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble, who gave himself a concussion by lowering his helmet into a tackler on Sunday against the Bears. The NFL has fined Tremble $17,083 for that.
Tremble wasn’t penalized on the play, but he absolutely should have been. It was a textbook example of what ball carriers are not allowed to do: He made no attempt to evade contact and instead lowered the crown of his own helmet directly into the helmet of Bears safety Jaquan Brisker, who also suffered a concussion. Brisker was not fined, as he did not lower the crown of his helmet in the collision.
Tremble also lost a fumble when he knocked himself out on the play.
Cornerback Kevin King ended a long absence from the field with the Falcons this year, but his run with the team came to an end on Friday.
The Falcons announced King’s release ahead of this weekend’s game against the Panthers. They did not announce a corresponding move and they could fill that spot by activating linebacker Nate Landman off of injured reserve.
King missed the 2022 season for personal reasons and tore his Achilles in 2023, so the season opener in September was his first regular season action in a long while. King spent five years with the Packers before the two missed years.
King appeared in all five games this season. He had three tackles while playing almost all of his snaps on special teams.
Running back Bijan Robinson is on track to be in the Falcons lineup against the Panthers on Sunday.
There was some question about Robinson’s status after he was added to the injury report with a hamstring issue on Thursday. Robinson was limited in that practice, but he was back to full participation Friday and he has no injury designation for the weekend.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney (knee) also returned to full work after two limited practices and he’s good to go for Sunday.
Linebacker Troy Andersen (knee) will miss his second straight game after being ruled out on Friday. Nate Landman could be part of the plan to fill in for him as he’s been listed as questionable to be activated from injured reserve. Landman has missed four games with calf and quad injuries.
The Panthers will be missing two starting offensive linemen for Sunday’s game against the Falcons.
Right tackle Taylor Moton was ruled out on Friday because of an elbow injury. Center Austin Corbett was also ruled out, but head coach Dave Canales said earlier this week that Corbett will miss the rest of the season with a biceps injury.
Brady Christensen will be at center and Yosh Nijman will likely get the start in place of Moton.
The Panthers also ruled out linebacker Josey Jewell (hamstring, groin), tight end Tommy Tremble (concussion), and center Andrew Raym (concussion).
Linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder) missed his third straight practice Friday and is set to miss the game after being listed as doubtful. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson (ankle), defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson (ankle), cornerback Dane Jackson (hamstring), and tight end Ian Thomas (calf) are all listed as questionable.
