Panthers wide receiver Jonathan Mingo’s rookie season has come to an end.
The Panthers announced on Tuesday that they have placed Mingo on injured reserve, so he will not play against the Buccaneers on Sunday. Mingo has a foot injury.
Mingo was a second-round pick this season and he appeared 15 — 14 starts — of the team’s first 16 games this season. Mingo had 43 catches for 418 yards in those appearances and is behind Adam Thielen in both categories and DJ Chark in receiving yards.
The Panthers filled his roster spot by signing guard J.D. DiRenzo off of the practice squad. They also signed veteran running back Mike Boone to the practice squad.
It’s been two days since video emerged of Panthers owner David Tepper throwing a drink onto fans at EverBank Stadium before storming out of his suite.
The NFL has acknowledged awareness of the video, but has said nothing more. The Panthers have declined comment. The Jaguars, at whose stadium the incident occurred, had nothing to say.
On Tuesday morning, PFT asked both the Panthers and the NFL is there’s anything to add. Neither the team nor the league provided further comment beyond what they’ve already said, which is basically nothing.
If there was going to be a denial or an explanation/excuse, it surely would have surfaced by now. In a world that moves at the speed of tweet, two days is two weeks. Maybe two months. Maybe two years.
At this point, it’s fair to conclude Tepper did what the video shows he did. Why hasn’t he said anything about it? He’s worth $20.6 billion. He owns an NFL team. How can he remain silent on this?
His lawyers might be telling him to say nothing, since anything he says can and will be used against him, if/when he’s sued for assault and/or battery. But nothing he says will change what he did, unless he has a semi-plausible defense.
There’s no harm in apologizing for something like this. There’s plenty of harm in remaining silent. And there’s apparently no one on the payroll who can persuade him of the importance of truly being sorry — and of saying so.
The NFL still hasn’t said what it will do about Panthers owner David Tepper, who threw a drink onto fans outside his suite at EverBank Stadium on Sunday. However, NFL teams have not taken kindly in the past to fans throwing drinks onto players.
In 2018, a Patriot fan who threw a beer at Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was banned for life from Gillette Stadium. The fan also was charged with disorderly conduct.
The following year, a Browns fan was indefinitely banished from FirstEnergy Stadium for throwing a beer on Titans defensive back Logan Ryan.
“This individual person’s action is not tolerated in our building as it is not reflective of our fan base or city,” the team said in a statement. “We are currently addressing the situation internally, along with NFL Security, and we believe we have identified the person involved. He will ultimately face an indefinite ban from FirstEnergy Stadium for the unacceptable behavior, which is in clear violation for our Fan Code of Conduct.”
Every team has a Fan Code of Conduct. Carolina’s specifically prohibits “throwing objects.” It generally frowns upon “behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal in nature.” This game happened in Jacksonville; the Jaguars have a similar if not identical code.
Given the strongly-worded public statement the Browns issued after a fan threw a beer on a player, we asked the Jaguars if they have a comment on Tepper throwing a drink on their paying customers.
Jaguars P.R. said the team does not have a comment.
Hopefully, the NFL will have a comment soon. The league likes to say playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. Ownership should be the same kind of privilege. And if owners are going to engage in the same kind of behavior that would get a fan banned for life from a given venue, there needs to be something more serious than a fine that would be the multi-billionaire’s equivalent of a parking ticket.
Panthers outside linebacker Marquis Haynes Sr. has returned home after an overnight stay in a Florida hospital, the team announced.
Haynes was taken to Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville for observation and evaluation after being diagnosed with a concussion during Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars.
A member of the Panthers’ athletic training staff escorted Haynes back to Charlotte on Monday after Haynes was released from the hospital.
He remains in concussion protocol.
Haynes, 30, has had a back issue all season that has limited him to seven games.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield took a big shot to the ribs from Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu near the end of Sunday’s loss and he said after the game that he wasn’t feeling too great.
Mayfield also said that X-rays on his ribs were negative and it doesn’t look like the issue is going to interfere with his availability for the team’s Week 18 game against the Panthers. Head coach Todd Bowles said at a Monday press conference, via multiple reporters, that Mayfield is sore but that he will be “fine” in time to play on Sunday.
The Buccaneers will win the NFC South if they beat the Panthers. If they lose, the winner of the game between the Saints and Falcons will be the division champions.
Mayfield was 22-of-33 for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in Sunday’s 23-13 loss.
