The Carolina Panthers must begin preparing for life without Trai Turner in Week 2 after he misses his second consecutive practice.
For the second straight practice this week, the Carolina Panthers were without right guard Trai Turner. The three-time Pro Bowler is currently in the concussion protocol and would need to be cleared before he is able to return to the field.
If Turner is not able to go, the Panthers will be down three starting offensive linemen entering their divisional showdown with the Atlanta Falcons. The team lost starting left tackle Matt Kalil during the preseason and last week saw Daryl Williams go down with his second knee injury of the year. He was placed on injured reserve this week and will be lost for the remainder of the season.
While the team has done a nice job of handling the other injuries along the line, the loss of Turner may be too much for them to overcome. He is by far the best offensive linemen the Panthers have and is one of the best right guards in the NFL.
The Panthers will be entering this game with two new starters on that right side and the team will likely turn to Amini Silatolu or Brendan Mahon. Silatolu is a veteran who has experience starting at right guard while Mahon is an undrafted free agent, however at one point in training camp was pushing for the starting left guard position.
As for right tackle, the likely options for the Panthers is either Corey Robinson, who the team traded for before the start of the season, or Chris Clark, who was signed as a free agent this week. Both players have experience starting at right tackle but the deciding factor could be how in shape Clark is. He was not in training camp or preseason for any NFL team.
For the full injury report for the Carolina Panthers, click here.