Panthers place Jaycee Horn on IR, injury not considered ‘season-ending’

It wasn’t all bad news for the Carolina Panthers and cornerback Jaycee Horn on Friday.

As expected, the third-year defender was placed on injured reserve due to the hamstring injury he sustained in this past Sunday’s season opener. Horn will now miss at least the next four games.

But, according to a report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport from just moments earlier, Horn is not expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season. In fact, Rapoport notes that he could be back on the field at some point in the second half of the campaign.

That would be a relatively encouraging development for the Panthers and head coach Frank Reich, who told reporters on Wednesday that the 23-year-old would be out for an “extended period of time.” Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero also spoke on Horn’s upcoming absence yesterday.

“It’s a tough deal, obviously,” he said. “We feel really good about our corner situation right now. We got a lot of guys that got a lot of experience in this league and have played at a high level. And we’ll sort through, like, exactly who’s playing in what roles. But we look forward to it and we feel good about whoever’s out there.”

Coming into this season, the 2021 eighth overall pick missed 17 of a possible 33 games in his NFL career due to injury