Panthers right guard Chandler Zavala is back on injured reserve.
Zavala went on the list for the second time this season due to the calf injury he suffered last week. He missed four games with a knee injury earlier this season before returning to play in the last three contests. He’ll have to miss at least four more games as a result of Saturday’s moves.
Jake Curhan is expected to take Zavala’s spot in the lineup. The Panthers also announced that they have elevated offensive lineman Saahdiq Charles from the practice squad.
Cornerback Kalen King was signed to the active roster to fill the opening left by the Zavala move. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons joins Charles as a temporary elevation for Sunday’s game against the Rams.
The final bit of discipline has been announced for the fight at the end of Monday night’s Panthers-49ers game.
San Francisco receiver Jauan Jennings, who struck Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig as the clock was running out, was fined $12,172 for the infraction.
The contact was similar to the hit that resulted in a suspension of Lions safety Brian Branch, after he hit Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. The league didn’t suspend Jennings, apparently in light of the fact that he had been provoked by a blow to the crotch from Moehrig a few minutes earlier. Moehrig also seemed to be expecting the assault from Jennings. Smith-Schuster was extending a hand to Branch when Branch struck him.
Still, enough time had passed to make it not a fully forgivable knee-jerk reaction to a junk-punch. Last week, the NFL apparently did not fine Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey for striking Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, immediately after Chase had spit on Ramsey.
Moehrig was suspended for his infraction; the officials did not see it as it happened. And the message to all players is becoming more and more clear. If you jump across the line that separates acceptable behavior from flagrant disrespect, you will be suspended, not fined.
At age 37, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is having his best season ever. Beyond the team’s 9-2 record — which has them contending for the No. 1 seed in the NFC — Stafford’s numbers are beyond impressive.
Stafford’s passer rating is 113.7. (His full-season career high is 106.0.) He has 30 touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
And he has thrown 27 touchdown passes since his last interception. It’s an all-time record, and it could keep going.
Stafford’s most recent interception came 10 weeks ago, in a loss at Philadelphia that was on the brink of being a win. He’ll put the streak on the line, and attempt to extend it, at Carolina on Sunday.
Through it all, the Rams are stacking wins. After Carolina, they visit the Cardinals before hosting Stafford’s former team, the Lions. Next comes a short-week rematch with the Seahawks in Seattle, followed by games against the Falcons and Cardinals to wrap things up.
It’s all there for the taking. Home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. MVP award. Two wins away from the Super Bowl.
Of all the reasons for the Rams’ success, Stafford is the biggest reason for it.
Cornerback Jaycee Horn won’t be on the field when the Panthers host the Rams on Sunday.
Horn suffered a concussion in the Panthers’ loss to the 49ers and head coach Dave Canales officially ruled him out for this weekend on Friday. The Panthers also placed cornerback Corey Thornton on injured reserve this week, which leaves Mike Jackson, Chau Smith-Wade and Akayleb Evans as the top corners in Carolina.
Canales also said that the Panthers will be without center Cade Mays (ankle) and right guard Chandler Zavala (calf). Austin Corbett started in Mays’ place against the 49ers and Jake Curhan replaced Zavala.
Linebackers Claudin Cherelus (concussion) and Christian Rozeboom (hip, hamstring) will miss the game. The Panthers signed Isaiah Simmons to their practice squad this week and he could be elevated to flesh out the healthy options at the position.
Appeals officer Derrick Brooks has upheld Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig’s one-game suspension for punching 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings in the groin, the NFL announced Wednesday night.
Moehrig will miss Sunday’s game against the Rams, which will cost him his $65,000 game check.
Brooks is one of three hearing officers jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFLPA. Ramon Foster and Jordy Nelson are the others.
Moehrig struck Jennings after a play, constituting a clear violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which the NFL cited as applying to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship,” including “throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent.”
Moehrig’s punch, which was caught by ESPN cameras, led to a brief altercation after the game ended, with Jennings taking an open-handed right cross to Moehrig’s facemask.
In 12 games this season, Moehrig has recorded 81 total tackles with 10 tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.
Moehrig is eligible to return to the Panthers on Monday.
