Another Injury, Roster Moves and a Signing

Something about that scene Saturday night with Jason Carter sitting on the sidelines with ice on his knee just didn’t exactly give a Carolina Panthers fan a good feeling.  There’s a reason for that – he’s now on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

It’s enough to frustrate anyone involved with Ryne Robinson already out with a knee injury, Muhsin Muhammad nursing sore ribs and D.J. Hackett out with what we think is a toe injury.  Further complicating matters is Steve Smith’s suspension for the first two game of the season.  Things aren’t looking too good right now.

To help the situation, the Panthers have signed Samie Parker who was just released by the Denver Broncos. He has some speed (he’s a former track star at Oregon) and his stats at his first stop in the NFL (Kansas City) weren’t too bad – 110 catches, 1529 yards and 7 TD’s in four seasons.

John Fox may give him a look in the return game and they are also hoping to have him ready to take some snaps in this Thursday’s preseason finale against Pittsburgh.

Making room on the roster was the release of Sean Bailey a WR out of Georgia.

This problem the team is experiencing at wide receiver is not quite as bleak as it sounds.  Muhsin Muhammad is likely being held out of games as a precaution.  The veteran would almost definitely be playing through his soreness if this were the regular season.  These games don’t count so resting him up for the real thing is probably the right move.

As for Hackett – he’s a guy who already had a reputation for being injured during his time in Seattle.  He got a mention on our podcast this week and rightfully so.  Sure, a toe injury, or whatever his ailment is, can be painful.  But let’s think back.

Remember when he was a free agent and teams were unsure of bringing him in?  Remember his agent saying that a lot of the time he spent on the bench was not due to injuries but because the team wanted to keep him out?  He said that Hackett wasn’t injured most of that time.

Now in his second stop in Carolina, he’s injured again.  He’s seen little time on the field during training camp and not a single snap during a preseason game.

The question is this – how long will it be before this wears thin with John Fox?  Let’s make it two questions – how long before Fox and GM Marty Hurney are sorry they signed this guy?

Moving on to other business.

The Panthers released/waived four players on Monday to reach the limits mandated by the league.

CB Curtis Deloatch was released and QB Lester Ricard, TE Chris Conklin and DE Casper Brinkley were all placed on the waiver wire.

Deloatch had seen some time on the field in preseason but his odds were slim of making the roster behind guys like Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall.  In fact, Ricardo Colclough has played fairly well in the preseason even looking like a decent punt return option.

Ricard was a guy who was signed as training camp fodder to add another body at QB.  Matt Moore is a lock as the number two while Brett Basanez should be the number three though there are whispers that the team could do the unthinkable and keep only two QB’s on the 53-man roster.

Conklin was a long shot at best.  Consider that the team has Jeff King, Dante Rosario and rookie Gary Barnidge at tight end.  Carrying four at that position is probably not going to happen so Conklin became expendable.

Brinkley was a fan favorite in Spartanburg.  He matriculated at the University of South Carolina and all the Gamecocks fans were there to greet him.  Unfortunately, he was behind too many bodies and just couldn’t secure a spot.