Austin Corbett activated, but three more sent to Injured Reserve

Some good news to balance out a whole lot of bad news

Only the 2023 Carolina Panthers could exit their bye week as a worse team than they entered. There is the good news that right guard Austin Corbett, a truly great player, has been activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list. He is eligible to play this week against the Houston Texans.

Unfortunately, the Panthers have sent defensive back Jeremy Chinn (quadriceps), linebacker Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring), and tight end Giovanni Ricci (shoulder) to injured reserve.

The Panthers began the season with five tight ends on the roster and are now down to three. Hayden Hurst, Tommy Tremble, and Stephen Sullivan remain healthy, though you may be surprised to hear that based on their involvement in the Panthers’ passing attack.

The losses of Chinn and Gross-Matos are tougher pills to swallow. They leave an already hamstrung defense with less talent as they join Henry Anderson, Marquis Haynes Sr, Jaycee Horn, and Shaq Thompson on injured reserve. And those are just the on the field consequences.

Chinn once figured heavily into trade speculation for the Panthers, but will be on injured reserve through the October 31st deadline.

It should be taken as an encouraging note, however, than neither Xavier Woods (hamstring) or Vonn Bell (quadriceps) were placed on injured reserve this week. Woods has not played since Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks and Bell was injured after the Week 5 game against the Detroit Lions. Hopefully we’ll be seeing them back in action sooner rather than later.