The Panthers have handed in their final injury report of the 2025 regular season.
It calls guard Robert Hunt questionable to be activated from injured reserve ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game against the Buccaneers. Hunt has been out since injuring his biceps in Week 2.
The Panthers could also activate wide receiver David Moore (elbow). Moore joins linebacker Krys Barnes (back) and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (hamstring) as the team’s other players with questionable tags.
Cornerback Robert Rochell (concussion) and linebacker Claudin Cherelus (calf, ankle) are the only Panthers who have been ruled out. Running back Rico Dowdle (toe) has no injury designation.
The Panthers will win the NFC South by beating the Bucs. They’ll also claim the division title with a loss and a win by the Falcons on Sunday.
The Buccaneers looked like Super Bowl contenders at their Week 9 bye. Since starting 6-2, Tampa Bay’s championship dreams have evaporated.
So what has gone wrong for the Bucs, who are 1-6 since their week off?
“I don’t know,” running back Rachaad White told JoeBucsFan.com after the latest failure, at Miami. “It boils down to for me, how I look at it, just being honest, we all just got to look in the mirror. We all gotta have a level of pride, a level of care. And right now, we all just, you know, are kind of floating around and blowing in the wind. So I think we need to come out with our piss hot and let’s see what happens.”
The “look in the mirror” line first emerged in the aftermath of the fourth-quarter prime-time collapse against the Falcons, during coach Todd Bowles’s post-game F-bomb fest, which he punctuated with this message: “Look in the fucking mirror.”
Mirror gazing hasn’t worked. Nothing has worked.
Injuries have been a factor. Especially for, we believe, quarterback Baker Mayfield. He has a habit of playing through anything/everything, without ever complaining. But some injuries impact performance. His miscues of late (six total turnovers in the last four games) may trace to the fact that he’s playing hurt.
Mayfield is currently on the report with right shoulder and knee injuries. Limited in practice on Tuesday, he fully participated on Wednesday. He’ll undoubtedly play on Saturday, in a win or go home (and win and maybe go home a day later) showdown with the Panthers.
To his credit, Mayfield refuses to sit. His determination should be infectious. For whatever reason, not enough of his teammates have been sufficiently inspired by Mayfield’s approach.
It all comes down to Saturday. And the end result could entail the entire franchise looking in the mirror (starting with ownership) and making some important decisions about any and all changes that may need to be made in order to get more out of the roster in 2026.
He didn’t get his first start until Week 9. And he has done enough since then to put himself in position to get a trophy next month.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has landed firmly as one of the top two candidates for offensive rookie of the year, based on the current betting odds. Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan remains the favorite at -140. Shough has moved to +140.
In 16 games, McMillan has 66 catches for 929 yards and seven touchdowns. He has a pair for 100-yard games. Most recently, McMillan caught one pass for five yards in a 27-10 loss to the Seahawks.
Shough has been coming on strong of late. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns, an average per attempt of 12.3 yards, and a passer rating of 142.7 in a 34-26 victory over the Titans.
Also, Shough has won four in a row. Two of his five wins (a franchise record for a rookie quarterback) have come against McMillan’s Panthers.
Shough can essentially defeat the Panthers for a third time on Sunday. If the Bucs beat Carolina on Saturday, a Saints win over the Falcons on Sunday would deliver the NFC South title to Tampa Bay. An Atlanta win would put the Panthers in.
The postseason won’t matter to the voting; the ballots are due next week. The closing arguments from McMillan and Shough in a pair of high-stakes games could end up making a big difference.
There’s some positive news on the injury front for Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback.
Baker Mayfield was upgraded to a full participant on Wednesday’s injury report after he was listed as limited for Tuesday’s walk-through.
Mayfield is dealing with right shoulder and knee injuries.
Though he’s been listed with different ailments in 2025, Mayfield has not missed a start this year. He’s completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions so far in 2025.
Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (toe) was also upgraded to a limited participant after he was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) was upgraded from DNP to limited as well.
Cornerback Jamel Dean (shoulder) and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson (knee) remained DNPs.
Offensive tackle Luke Goedeke (ankle) and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (pectoral) remained limited.
Tight end Devin Culp (knee) remained full.
There’s some good news on the injury front for the Panthers with their Wednesday practice as they get ready for Saturday’s game against the Panthers.
Running back Rico Dowdle was upgraded to a full participant after he did not participate on Tuesday with a toe injury.
Head coach Dave Canales had said that Dowdle was more sore than usual coming out of Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks.
Dowdle leads the Panthers with 1,066 yards rushing this season. He’s also caught 37 passes for 277 yards.
Linebacker Krys Barnes (back) also returned to practice as a full participant on Tuesday.
But cornerback Robert Rochell (concussion), linebacker Claudin Cherelus (calf/ankle), and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (fibula) remained DNPs.
Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (hamstring), guard Robert Hunt (biceps), and receiver David Moore (elbow) remained full.
