The Carolina Panthers front office is busy throughout the season with transactions, roster moves, and injury updates. Here’s what’s happening at Mint Street this week.
Injuries
The 0-1 Panthers go on the road to face the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC South rivalry game. Games between the Panthers and the Falcons are almost always bruising, physical affairs, and player health is at a premium in this one. Fortunately, the Panthers have a fairly clean injury report as of Friday.
Young stud wide receiver Jalen Coker
was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he was a full participant on Friday. Look for him to get behind Atlanta’s secondary for at least one monster touchdown.
The injury report is more troubling on the defensive side of the ball. Outside linebacker Patrick Jones II was limited in practice all week and is questionable for Sunday. Veteran defensive tackle Bobby Brown III won’t be playing on Sunday due to a back injury.
Transactions
The Panthers made three transactions this week, and each of them have ramifications.
Signed LB Tyrel Dodson to the active roster
Last week I wrote at length about the potential significance of the Panthers signing Dodson to the practice squad. He’s 28 years old with 310 tackles and 9.5 sacks over the last three seasons. He’s not coming off any sort of injury, nor are there off-field concerns. Carolina elevated him to the 53-man roster this week and I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaching staff gives him an opportunity to prove himself with some meaningful defensive snaps against the Falcons.
Waived WR Jimmy Horn Jr.
In order to sign Dodson to the active roster, somebody had to come off it. That somebody was Jimmy Horn Jr.
Horn, a sixth-round pick by the Panthers in the 2025 draft, was waived this week after muffing a punt last week against the Bears. As a rookie last year he had 11 receptions for 108 yards while returning five kickoffs and two punts. The Panthers were looking to utilize him more in the return game this year, but the muffed punt was the final straw for Carolina’s coaching staff. After clearing waivers earlier this week, Horn signed with the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.
Signed WR EJ Williams to the practice squad
After elevating Dodson, the Panthers went out and added wide receiver EJ Williams to the practice squad.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver has some familiarity with the Carolinas after playing three seasons at Clemson from 2020-2022. He then transferred to Indiana where he spent the last three seasons. In the Hoosiers’ national championship season last year he contributed 36 receptions for 438 yards and an impressive six touchdowns. While his college career was unspectacular with just 1,210 career receiving yards over 60 games, he has an NFL body and will now have the opportunity to prove he belongs in the league.
