Panthers Week 13 injury report: Latest on Jaycee Horn, Tommy Tremble, Hayden Hurst, more

The Carolina Panthers will continue to monitor cornerback Jaycee Horn’s status throughout the weekend heading into their Week 13 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

Horn, who is still on injured reserve, practiced in a limited capacity throughout the week. He was given a “questionable” tag on Friday’s injury report, making him a likely game-time decision for the debut of interim head coach Chris Tabor.

Horn has missed the past 10 games on injured reserve after suffering a “serious” hamstring injury in the team’s Week 1 loss against the Atlanta Falcons. Horn, a frequent member of the injury list throughout his career, has missed 28 of 45 career games since entering the NFL as a 2021 first-round pick.

The team has until Monday to activate Horn from injured reserve or lose him for the rest of the season on the list. So, if the Panthers want to take additional time to prepare Horn, they could just wait until next week to activate him.

If Horn can’t go against the Buccaneers, the Panthers will use Donte Jackson and CJ Henderson — who is set to return from concussion protocol — at outside cornerback with Troy Hill (also listed as questionable) filling his familiar nickel spot. The team claimed veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin off waivers from the Houston Texans on Thursday, and in theory, he could contribute depth behind that trio. The Panthers also have D’Shawn Jamison at the position.

Tight end Tommy Tremble (hip) was listed as “doubtful” on Friday. He was injured in last week’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. Making the Panthers’ tight end situation even more unpleasant is veteran Hayden Hurst (concussion protocol), who was ruled out for a third consecutive week. If both Hurst and Tremble are ultimately sidelined, Stephen Sullivan and Ian Thomas will need to pick up the workload. Jordan Matthews could also be elevated from the practice squad.

Along with Hurst, safety Vonn Bell (shoulder) was also ruled out. Like Tremble, Bell suffered his injury last week. Bell will likely be replaced by a rotation of Alex Cook, Sam Franklin and Jammie Robinson.

The Panthers listed defensive back Jeremy Chinn (IR - quad) and pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos (IR - hamstring) as “questionable.” Both players would need to be activated off IR in order to play. The team has three open spots on its 53-man roster, so a corresponding move wouldn’t be necessary to activate either player.

Here is the full Week 13 injury report for the Panthers:

OUT: TE Hayden Hurst (concussion), S Vonn Bell (shoulder)

Doubtful: TE Tommy Tremble (hip)

Questionable: CB Jaycee Horn (IR - hamstring), DB Jeremy Chinn (IR - quad), OLB Yetur Gross-Matos (IR - hamstring), OLB Marquis Haynes (back), OLB DJ Johnson (elbow), G Nash Jensen (back), CB Troy Hill (hip)

Panthers promote WR from practice squad

After Friday’s practice, the Panthers promoted wide receiver Michael Strachan from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and waived cornerback David Long.

Strachan appeared in two games earlier this season, catching one pass for 45 yards in the Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound wideout has spent most of the season on the practice squad. He previously played two seasons for the Indianapolis Colts.

Long was claimed off waivers last month and was used as a depth cornerback. With Griffin now on the roster, the team essentially swapped out one veteran cornerback for another.

The roster swap allows the Panthers to keep three open spots on their 53-man roster in case they decide activate any of their three players on injured reserve with return designations..