Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton popped up on the practice report Wednesday with an ankle injury. Dalton, though, was a full participant.
Dalton made his first start since Week 3 of last season, leading the Panthers to their first win of the season Sunday. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-22 win over the Raiders.
The Panthers practiced without five players Wednesday.
Defensive linemen A’Shawn Robinson (knee) and Shy Tuttle (foot) joined right guard Damien Lewis (elbow) and core special teams player Lonnie Johnson (hip) in rehab. Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney had a rest day.
Running back Chuba Hubbard was limited in a load-management day after 169 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Raiders.
Safety Nick Scott (quad) also was limited.
Most don’t like the overlapping doubleheaders on Monday night. Disney apparently does; two games apparently generate bigger ratings than one.
ESPN announced that Jaguars-Bills (on ESPN) and Commanders-Bengals (on ABC and ESPN+) averaged “more than 19 million viewers” during the two-hour overlap of the two games. For most of the two-hour overlap, Jags-Bills was not a compelling game.
The Commanders-Bengals game averaged 13.2 million viewers. The number for the full Jaguars-Bills game wasn’t specified, which likely means it fell significantly below whatever ESPN had hoped.
The late game averaged 15.2 million viewers during the exciting final 45 minutes from 10:15 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. Frankly, that’s a disappointing number for a three-letter network.
So why do it? It extends the total viewing window for one or both games to roughly four hours. But it seems as if the numbers would be better if they just televised one game and put it on all three networks — ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.
Then again, if last night’s one game had been Jaguars-Bills, many might have turned the TV off with nearly two quarters to play.
After reports emerged earlier on Tuesday, the Panthers made it official in the afternoon, announcing that receiver Adam Thielen has been placed on injured reserve.
Thielen suffered a hamstring injury while catching a 31-yard touchdown pass late in the first half of Sunday’s victory over the Raiders.
Carolina also placed safety Jordan Fuller on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
Thielen and Fuller will be out for at least the next four weeks.
Additionally, the Panthers waived tight end Messiah Swinson. He was signed off the Packers practice squad but did not appear in a game.
As corresponding moves, the Panthers signed receiver Jalen Coker, safety Demani Richardson, and safety Russ Yeast to the 53-man roster.
Finally, Carolina signed safety Alex Cook and cornerback Justin Hardy to the practice squad, releasing outside linebacker Eku Leota from the practice squad.
Last night, the NFL staged a pair of staggered Monday night games — Jaguars at Bills and Commanders at Bengals. The first game started at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the second one started 45 minutes later, at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Most didn’t like it. A Twitter poll posted after the second game started asked a simple question. Do you like two games being played on Monday night?
Of more than 27,000 votes, 66.9 percent said, “No.”
People prefer to watch one game at a time. It’s impossible to closely follow two at once.
This new periodic habit of overlapping doubleheaders has one major benefit. One game becomes insurance against the other game not being very good.
That happened last night. By the time the Jaguars-Bills game was out of hand, Commanders-Bengals was getting good.
Like it or not, it’s coming again. Next Monday, Titans-Dolphins starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Seahawks-Lions begins at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The Panthers will be without one of their key offensive players for at least four weeks.
Carolina is placing Adam Thielen on injured reserve after he suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s victory over the Raiders, according to multiple reports.
Thielen sustained the injury while catching a 31-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. He was not able to return to the contest.
But Thielen is expected to return to the field at some point in 2024.
Thorugh three games this season, Thielen has eight receptions for 109 yards with one touchdown. He caught three passes for 40 yards in the first half on Sunday.
Per Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers will sign receiver Jalen Coker off their practice squad to the 53-man roster as a corresponding move. Coker signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in the spring.
