The Carolina Panthers (1-2) ruled a pair of starters out on Friday ahead of their "Sunday Night Football" date against the Detroit Lions (2-1).
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo previously reported that left guard Damien Lewis would miss Sunday's game against the Lions with a UCL injury. Carolina confirmed that in its Friday injury report, ruling Lewis out after the 6-foot-2, 335-pound tackle didn't practice. Lewis has made 96 career starts across his 7-year NFL career.
The Panthers will also be without starting receiver Xavier Legette. Like Lewis, Legette didn't practice on Friday. It marks the second straight contest that Legette will miss.
The Panthers ruled out LG Damien Lewis and WR Xavier Legette on Friday. WR Jalen Coker and RT Monroe Feeling
both questionable. pic.twitter.com/KSkFbvtCwO
— The Lions Wire (@thelionswire) October 2, 2026
Legette, a 6-foot-3, third-year pro out of South Carolina, has just two catches for 64 yards this season. But, he has 86 grabs for 924 yards and seven scores in his three-year NFL career to date.
As he makes his way through concussion protocol, starting right tackle Monroe Freeling was a full participant on Friday, but he still needs to be cleared by an independent physician this weekend in order to play. Panthers head coach Dave Canales said the Panthers will do whatever is in Freeling's best interests.
Carolina's leading receiver, Jalen Coker, is also questionable with a quad injury. Coker has 18 receptions for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
If Coker is unable to play, practice squad receiver Ja'seem Reed will make his NFL debut. That figures to place an even greater emphasis on reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan. McMillan caught 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns last year.
The Lions' defense is currently ranked last in the NFL in both passing defense (299.3 passing yards per game) and scoring defense (31.7 points per game).
Carolina also tabbed defensive tackles Lee Hunter (foot) and Cam Jackson (knee) as questionable. Hunter has started all three games after being a second-round pick this past spring out of Texas Tech, totaling 10 tackles.
Jackson has appeared in 10 games over the last two seasons with the Panthers. The 6-foot-6, 328-pound defensive tackle has 11 total tackles in his career after being drafted out of Florida in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Panthers rule pair of starters out vs. Lions
