The Rams will not have one of their young tight ends for Saturday’s wild card matchup against the Panthers.
Rookie Terrance Ferguson is officially inactive for the game after he was listed as questionable for the contest. Ferguson was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday and Wednesday before a limited session on Thursday.
Cornerback Josh Wallace (ankle) is also inactive for Los Angeles after he was listed as quesitonable.
Right guard Kevin Dotson (ankle) and receiver Jordan Whittington (knee) were previously ruled out.
The Panthers, however, have a healthy 53-man roster.
Los Angeles’ full list of inactives is: Ferguson, Dotson, Wallace, Whittington, cornerback Deion Kendrick, cornerback Darious Williams, and quarterback Stetson Bennett.
Carolina’s inactives are linebacker Krys Barnes, center Nick Samac, defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte, receiver David Moore, and defensive end LaBryan Ray.
Kickoff between the Rams and Panthers is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is expected to win the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year honor. But while he’s getting most of the attention, McMillan is far from the only rookie who will contribute to the Panthers today as they open the playoffs against the Rams.
In fact, Panthers coach Dave Canales said General Manager Dan Morgan had an exceptional hit rate in this year’s draft, as all eight players the Panthers selected contributed as rookies.
“Dan Morgan, amazing job he’s done evaluating talent, evaluating football character, personal character, and then the ability to help us from a football standpoint,” Canales said. “He and I have constant conversations about how can we get these guys involved because they’re going to have to help us at some point. That’s been true for all of them. They’ve all had to step up and help us.”
Among the rookies Canales mentioned were sixth-round wide receiver Jimmy Horn, second-round pass rusher Nic Scourton and fourth-round safety Lathan Ransom.
“Jimmy Horn’s role has continued to grow. Nic has been out there the whole time. Lathan Ransom growing into different roles and making impacts on special teams. I can go on and on, our entire rookie class,” Canales said.
Canales added that he and his assistant coaches believe in giving rookies opportunities, sometimes even knowing they’re going to make rookie mistakes, because of the long-term benefits of getting young players experience.
“It’s also a staff that’s committed to development, that’s committed to spending all the extra time they need to with these guy sto make sure they’re as ready as possible for game day,” Canales said. “We need them. We need them now, we’ve needed them down the stretch, and certainly in the future. Every mistake that a rookie makes for you early on is an investment in your future, and is an opportunity to learn and to grow and it does pay dividends.”
In addition to having all eight of their draft picks on the 53-player roster, the Panthers have three undrafted rookies as well. They’re loaded with rookies who will see their first playoff action today — and whom the Panthers hope are part of a team that plays in a whole lot of playoff games in the future.
The calendar says January. The weather forecast in Charlotte screams September.
Depending on which unreliable weather forecasting app you rely on (and they all sort of suck these days), there’s a threat of thunderstorms for Saturday’s Rams-Panthers wild-card contest. Which opens the door to the possibility of a delay, before or during the game.
And that could create potential chaos for the NFL.
Rams-Panthers is due to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET, on Fox. Packers-Bears streams on Prime Video at 8:00 p.m. ET. If lightning delays the early game, the NFL says it can slide the late-game kickoff by 10 minutes.
So there’s a chance of two playoff games going on at once, depending on whether and to what extent Rams-Panthers is delayed by Mother Nature. Which could prompt some to utter a different phrase that begins with “muther.”
Especially in Chicago and Milwaukee, where the Packers-Bears game is due to be televised on the Fox affiliate that will be broadcasting Rams-Panthers.
The 2025 Carolina Panthers are making history. And I don’t mean the good kind.
Via NBC Sports research, the Panthers are the fifth team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record in a non-strike-shortened season.
Carolina won the NFC South, winning eight and losing nine. Atlanta’s Week 18 win over the Saints triggered a three-way tie between the Falcons, Panthers, and Buccaneers at 8-9. The Panthers won the tiebreaker with the best record in the six-game round-robin among the three teams.
Other teams to make the playoffs despite a losing record were the 2022 Buccaneers (8-9), the 2020 Washington Football Team (7-9), the 2014 Panthers (7-8-1), and the 2010 Seahawks (7-9). Those teams were 2-2 in the wild-card round; the 2010 Seahawks beat the Saints in the Beastquake game, and the 2014 Panthers beat the Cardinals.
The Panthers are 10.5-point underdogs at home on Saturday against the Rams. During the regular season, the Panthers beat the Rams in Charlotte, despite being 9.5-point underdogs.
The Panthers activated offensive guard Robert Hunt off injured reserve on Friday, the team announced.
Hunt has not played since tearing a biceps tendon in Week 2 against Arizona but has practiced the past two weeks.
“I feel good,” Hunt said earlier this week, via Darin Gantt of the team website. “If I get the opportunity, I’ll be ready.”
The Panthers have removed Hunt from the injury report after listing him as questionable on Thursday. So, he is expected to play in Saturday’s playoff game against the Rams.
His return will create the 12th different combination of starting lines this season.
The Panthers did rule out offensive guard Chandler Zavala, who is on injured reserve with a calf injury.
