The Vikings have officially placed J.J. McCarthy on injured reserve, which formally ends his 2024 season.
After McCarthy underwent knee surgery earlier this week, head coach Kevin O’Connell said McCarthy would be done for the year.
But McCarthy is slated to remain with the team throughout the season, which effectively makes this a redshirt year for the young quarterback.
Minnesota traded up to select McCarthy at No. 10 overall. Sam Darnold is now set to be the team’s starter in 2024.
To replace McCarthy on the roster, the Vikings have signed former Panthers third-round pick Matt Corral.
The Ole Miss product entered the league in 2022 but never played in a regular-season game. Carolina waived him in late August of last year and the Patriots claimed him — but Corral was then placed on the exempt/left squad list in early September. He was waived and was set to sign with New England’s practice squad, but never ended up returning to the team.
Corral then went to the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions and appeared in four games with three starts for the club. He recorded a 3-0 record as a starter, completing 58 percent of his total throws for 494 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Panthers have added a veteran offensive lineman.
Carolina announced on Friday that the club has signed guard Ike Boettger.
Boettger, 29, has appeared in 36 games with 17 starts since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
Last season, he appeared in two games for the Colts. while spending most of the season on their practice squad.
Boettger signed with the Lions in July but was released earlier this week.
As a corresponding move, the Panthers waived rookie linebacker Jackson Mitchell.
The Panthers made a change to their offensive line group on Thursday.
The team announced that they have claimed guard Mason Brooks off of waivers. Guard Nash Jensen was waived with an injury designation to clear room for Brooks on the 90-man roster.
Brooks was cut by the Commanders on Wednesday. He spent last season on their practice squad and did not get called up for any regular season action.
Jensen played 11 games and made five starts for the Panthers last season. He was trying for a reserve role this year, but his injury along with those suffered by others — Chandler Zavala joined the list on Thursday — left the Panthers to look elsewhere.
One of the Panthers’ key offensive players had an injury scare in Thursday’s joint practice with the Jets, but it sounds like he’ll be alright.
Running back Chuba Hubbard was hit hard after making a catch in team drills, but head coach Dave Canales told reporters in his press conference that Hubbard’s initial prognosis is positive.
“Chuba went down — we had big concerns there,” Canales said. “The initial testing looks pretty good, so they’re going to follow up. We’ll have more information on him there.
“It was testing on his knee, just to make sure everything was stable. It was a really — it was a real-time collision there. It wasn’t a dirty hit. It was two guys faced up on each other. And his foot kind of gave out from underneath him. So, the initial testing was very positive. But we’re going to do all the follow-up, make sure he’s fully ready before we put him back out there.”
Guard Robert Hunt also had an injury scare with his knee but was able to finish practice after some testing.
Reserve guard Chandler Zavala and rookie defensive end Kenny Dyson weren’t as lucky, as Canales said they have more significant concerns. Zavala has a hamstring injury and was carted off. Dyson has a groin injury.
Canales also noted safety Xavier Woods’ groin injury is more serious than the team initially thought.
“So, he’s a couple of weeks — I can’t remember exactly how many,” Canales said. “But we were really hoping it was just kind of some general soreness, but there is a strain in there. So he’ll be a couple of weeks.”
Additionally, cornerback Dane Jackson’s hamstring is “significant” and he will miss around six weeks.
Receivers Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette remain day-to-day.
Veteran safety Rudy Ford is now a member of the Panthers.
The Panthers announced on Wednesday that they have signed Ford to their 90-man roster. He tried out for the team this week.
Ford spent the last two seasons in Green Bay and started 15 of the 30 games he played for the Packers. He had 115 tackles, five interceptions, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in those appearances.
Ford also played 56 games for the Jaguars, Eagles, and Cardinals after being selected by Arizona in the sixth round of the 2017 draft.
The Panthers opened a roster spot for Ford by waiving defensive back Clayton Isbell. They rounded out the day’s moves by releasing edge rusher Kemoko Turay off of injured reserve.
