Bryce Young is hot and the Panthers are rolling.
Young connected with receiver Tetairoa McMillan for a 32-yard touchdown, pushing Carolina’s lead over Detroit to 13-6.
Ryan Fitzgerald’s extra point hit the right upright to keep the lead at seven.
Young started the game 11-of-11 before a throwaway ended his streak. It was Young’s most consecutive completions to start a game in his career.
Young converted fourth-and-4 with a pass over the middle to John Metchie to move the chains in Detroit territory. His touchdown to McMillan came a play later.
So far on Sunday, Young is 12-of-13 for 141 yards with a TD.
Panthers Clips
For the second time this season, Chuba Hubbard has reached the end zone on the ground.
Hubbard rushed for a 15-yard score late in the first quarter, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead over the Lions.
Hubbard’s score capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive that took 4:00 off the clock.
Carolina was efficient on its way to the score, as the club did not even face a third down on the possession.
Bryce Young has started the game 7-of-7 for 68 yards.
The Lions had opened the scoring with a 54-yard field goal by Jake Bates to cap their opening drive. Through two possessions, Detroit has not converted a third down.
Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette missed last week’s loss to the Browns with a knee injury and he’ll miss several more games as well.
Legette was ruled out for Sunday night’s home game against the Lions on Friday and the Panthers placed him on injured reserve on Saturday. Legette will have to miss at least four games before he’ll be eligible to return to action.
Legette was injured during a 55-yard catch in Carolina’s Week 2 win over the Falcons. His only other catch on the season was a nine-yarder in the same game.
The Panthers also announced that they have elevated wide receiver Ja’seem Reed and cornerback Robert Rochell from the practice squad.
Reed provides depth with Legette out and Jalen Coker listed as questionable due to a quad injury. The Panthers placed both of their starting corners on injured reserve this week, which created the need to call Rochell up for Sunday night.
Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker was able to play in Week 3 after being listed as questionable and they’ll be hoping for the same outcome on Sunday night.
Coker was limited in practice by a quad injury for the second straight day on Friday and the Panthers have slapped another questionable tag on him ahead of their game against the Lions. Coker has also dealt with an ankle injury this season and has 18 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
The Panthers will be without wide receiver Xavier Legette (knee) for the second straight game. They have also ruled out guard Damien Lewis (elbow). Cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are not on the injury report, but the starters will be missing after landing on injured reserve earlier this week.
Right tackle Monroe Freeling returned to full practice, but is listed as questionable pending final clearance from concussion protocol. Defensive tackles Lee Hunter (foot) and Cam Jackson (knee) are also listed as questionable.
Wide receiver Jalen Coker was back on the practice field for the Panthers on Thursday.
Coker was listed as a limited participant with the quad injury he suffered in Week 3. Coker was called questionable to play earlier in the week and the Panthers will issue an official injury designation on Friday.
That will also be the next update on how right tackle Monroe Freeling is progressing through the concussion protocol. Freeling was a limited participant on Thursday and will need to be cleared in order to face the Lions on Sunday night.
Tight end Darren Waller and running back Chuba Hubbard also returned to action after resting on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Xavier Legette (knee) and guard Damien Lewis (elbow) remained out of practice while defensive tackle Lee Hunter (foot) was added to the report as a limited participant.
The Panthers placed their starting cornerbacks on injured reserve on Wednesday, but there was a positive development for quarterback Bryce Young later in the day.
Young was checked out by trainers during last Sunday’s loss to the Browns and he was sore enough to go for further tests the day after the game, but Wednesday’s injury report shows that he was listed as a full participant in practice. Young’s knee is given as the reason why he’s on the report.
That listing was an estimation because the Panthers only held a walkthrough. Had there been an actual practice, a number of players would have sat out.
Wide receivers Jalen Coker (quad) and Xavier Legette (knee) headed up a group that also included tight end Darren Waller (toe, rest), running back Chuba Hubbard (not injury related), right tackle Monroe Freeling (concussion), left guard Damien Lewis (elbow), and linebacker Princely Umanmielen (ankle). Safety Nick Scott (rib) and linebacker Devin Lloyd (calf) joined Young as full participants.
The Panthers will not have their top two cornerbacks for the next month.
Carolina has placed Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson on injured reserve, the team announced on Wednesday.
Horn is dealing with a quad injury while Jackson has a groin injury.
As corresponding moves, the team has signed receiver David Moore and running back Tre Tyus to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad.
Additionally, Carolina has signed cornerback Robert Rockell to its practice squad.
After losing to the Browns last week, the Panthers will be at home to face the Lions on Sunday night in Week 4.
The Panthers are set to be without guard Damien Lewis for a little bit, so they added some offensive line depth on Tuesday.
They announced that they have signed guard Torricelli Simpkins off of their practice squad. Simpkins signed with Carolina ahead of the regular season.
Simpkins played in 15 games and started twice for the Saints last season.
The Panthers waived linebacker Maema Njongmeta in a corresponding move. He had three tackles and a forced fumble in Sunday’s loss to the Browns.
Linebacker Cam Gill and offensive lineman Isaia Glass signed to the practice squad while guard Chandler Zavala was released from that roster to wrap up the day’s moves.
The Panthers will not have one of their starting offensive linemen for at least Sunday’s game.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, left guard Damien Lewis will be sidelined for a few weeks with a UCL injury in his elbow.
But there’s a chance Lewis will miss just one game, as the Panthers have a bye in Week 5.
Head coach Dave Canales mentioned in his Monday press conference that the team was doing imaging on Lewis’ injury and the bye would be taken into consideration when it comes to a return-to-play timeline.
Lewis has been with the Panthers since 2024, having signed a four-year contract with the club.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young never came out of Sunday’s loss to the Browns, but he was moving gingerly after a sack in the first half and he’ll be going for some tests to kick off this week.
Head coach Dave Canales didn’t specify what body part Young injured when he got kicked during the game and said that he thinks the quarterback will be fine for their Week 4 trip to Detroit, but that he’ll get imaging done to make sure there’s nothing more going on.
“He was sore a little bit,” Canales said. “I think he took a cleat, I can’t remember exactly where. There was some soreness, he was able to battle through it. Was able to finish. We’re looking at him too, we’re making sure everything’s right.”
Canales confirmed that the Panthers are set to be without cornerback Jaycee Horn for an indefinite period of time due to a quad injury, so they’ll be hoping that everything with Young comes back with positive news.
