Panthers Dealt Season-Ending Injury News on Defender in Week 15 Aftermath

The Carolina Panthers are coming off a tough loss at home in Week 15 to the Dallas Cowboys, losing 30-14. The Panthers’ defense was not at its best, which was not the case in the previous three games.

Carolina gave up 211 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns last week. In addition to the defeat, the Panthers had a couple of players get banged up on both sides of the ball.

On Tuesday, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer reported that linebacker Claudin Cherelus suffered a season-ending toe injury against the Cowboys and will head to injured reserve. The second-year linebacker is expected to have surgery on his injured toe.

Along with Cherelus, the Panthers will likely be without rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette for Week 16, who suffered a groin injury against Dallas.

Cherelus joins fellow linebacker Shaq Thompson on injured reserve, who sustained a torn Achilles in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Carolina can ill-afford to lose any more linebacker depth as they didn’t have the strongest depth to start.

The Panthers were already without rookie Trevin Wallace, who did not play against Dallas due to a shoulder injury. Cherelus took Wallace’s spot in the starting lineup. Carolina hopes to have Wallace back on the field against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.

Meanwhile, Cherelus appeared in 13 games this season (two starts), posting 28 total tackles. The former Alcorn State standout spent most of his time on special teams, playing 57 percent of snaps compared to 17 percent of defensive snaps.

Cherelus joined the Panthers last summer after he was waived by the New York Jets in the preseason. The 25-year-old linebacker signed with the Jets following the 2023 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent.

To fill Cherelus’ spot on the 53-man roster, the Panthers could look to promote linebackers Jacoby Windmon, Thomas Incoom, or Kenny Dyson, who are all on the practice squad.

More Panthers news and analysis: