On Wednesday, the Carolina Panthers made a series of roster moves
in preparation for training camp, which officially started today. The moves:- Ikem Ekwonu was placed on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn patella tendon suffered in the playoffs
- Tershawn Wharton was placed on the PUP list as he recovers from neck surgery
- Bobby Brown III was placed on the non-football injury list with a hamstring injury
The trio join Jaycee Horn and Taylor Moton, who were reportedly destined for the NFI list on Tuesday.
Horn and Brown aren’t expected to miss much time. Brown’s hamstring injury is considered pretty mild, and Horn simply got a cut on his foot that required stitches.
The other three are more up in the air. Moton’s reportedly been undergoing treatment for his blood
clots for about a month, and it seems as though that’s going to continue through the start of the season. Ekwonu’s apparently been doing very well in his rehab, but a torn patella tendon is a serious injury, and it’ll be a major accomplishment if he’s ready at any point this season. Wharton’s neck injury is a total mystery for us on the outside, but it seems like he’s expected to be ready at some point this season.
Between Moton and Ekwonu’s health issues, it’s a good thing the Panthers invested a first round pick in Monroe Freeling in the 2026 NFL Draft. He and Rasheed Walker look penciled in to be the Panthers starters at tackle for the foreseeable future.
As for the roster designations, there’s functionally little difference between the PUP and NFI lists. In either case, players must start camp on one of the two lists. They can’t be placed on either after they’ve played or practiced. They count against the 90 player limit during the offseason and can be activated at any time. If they stay on either list through roster cutdowns, they must miss at least the first four games of the regular season, though they don’t count against the 53 man roster limit at that point.
The only difference between the two lists is the nature of what lands a player on one or the other. The PUP is for players recovering from injureis suffered during NFL play. The NFI list is for injuries sustained outside of NFL activities (like Horn) or for other illnesses (like Moton).
It’s not the worst start to camp in terms of injury luck. Fingers crossed and knock on wood that it doesn’t get worse from here.
