The Panthers are set to be back at full strength in their offensive backfield on Sunday.
Running back Chuba Hubbard has no injury designation for their game against the Jets, which puts him on track to return to action after missing the last two games with a calf injury. Hubbard fully participated in Friday’s practice after being limited the first two days of the week.
Rico Dowdle has starred in Hubbard’s absence, so head coach Dave Canales will have to sort out the timeshare this weekend and beyond.
While both backs are good to go, the Panthers could be down a pair of offensive linemen. Right tackle Taylor Moton (elbow) and left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) are listed as questionable.
Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (toe), wide receiver Jalen Coker (quad), and center Austin Corbett (knee) are also listed as questionable. Coker and Corbett will need to be activated from injured reserve in order to play.
The Jets are unlikely to have wide receiver Garrett Wilson in Sunday’s attempt to win their first game of the season.
Head coach Aaron Glenn said that Wilson is going to be listed as doubtful to play against the Panthers. Wilson has not practiced this week because of a knee injury he suffered in last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
The Jets ended that game with -10 net passing yards and missing Wilson will not do much to help their chances of a more impressive showing this time around. Josh Reynolds, Arian Smith, Allen Lazard, and Tyler Johnson are the other wideouts on the Jets’ roster.
Cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers (hip) and linebacker Cam Jones (hip) will also be listed as doubtful.
Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders is closing in on a return to the Panthers lineup.
Sanders has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, but he was upgraded to full practice participation on Thursday. The Panthers will issue injury designations for Sunday’s game against the Jets on Friday.
Sanders had 11 catches in the first three games of the season.
Cornerback Jaycee Horn (shoulder) also moved up to full practice participation. Wide receiver Jalen Coker (quad) and center Austin Corbett (knee) fully participated for the second straight day.
Left guard Damien Lewis (chest) was added to the injury report. He did not participate.
Cornerback Akayleb Evans (hamstring), running back Chuba Hubbard (calf), right tackle Taylor Moton (elbow), and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (toe) remained limited.
There was no question about who the starting running back was for the Panthers when Chuba Hubbard hurt his calf ahead of Week 5, but things are less clear with him back at practice this week.
Rico Dowdle’s 389 rushing yards and 473 yards from scrimmage in the two games Hubbard missed — both of which were Panthers wins — have made a strong case for a change at the top of the depth chart in Carolina. Head coach Dave Canales didn’t say if that will be the case against the Jets this week, but said Dowdle “earned the right to help this team, and he will, and we’ll find a way to do that.”
Dowdle said he isn’t going to make a big deal about when he’s on the field because “the only thing we can control is going out there and producing at a high level.”
“It don’t really matter who’s starting, just a matter about going out there, getting a win and executing and then as long as we all getting the ball and things like that and it’s helping the team win, so it really don’t matter,” Dowdle said, via the team’s website.
Hubbard said that he feels “110 percent” heading into this weekend’s game against the Jets and that his mindset is that it is not important “whether it’s first, last, middle of the game,” so both backs seem content with however everything plays out. The longer the Panthers can keep winning, the longer that’s likely to remain the case.
Panthers outside linebacker Patrick Jones II will miss the rest of the season with a back injury that will require surgery, coach Dave Canales announced Wednesday.
Jones did not leave Sunday’s victory over the Cowboys with an injury, playing 33 of 55 defensive snaps. But he underwent an MRI on Monday, which delivered the bad news.
He was the only player held out of Wednesday’s practice.
Jones, 27, missed two games with a hamstring injury this season.
His absence will mean a bigger workload for rookie Nic Scourton, who played 32 snaps on Sunday. Scourton started against the Falcons and Patriots in the two games Jones missed earlier this season.
The Panthers also have D.J. Wonnum, Princely Umanmielen and Thomas Incoom at the position and have elevated practice squad player Boogie Basham once this season.
