Carolina Panthers injury report as expected for Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina Panthers rule one player out for their Week 9 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

For the second consecutive week Carolina Panthers wide receiver Torrey Smith has been ruled out after suffering a knee injury in Philadelphia last month. His veteran leadership has aided in the development of promising young talent in D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and Damiere Byrd but his effectiveness on the field is missed.

Smith didn’t produce legendary statistics over his first six games in Carolina but he did provide a safety net of sorts for quarterback Cam Newton. His route running capabilities often led him to be a viable target on plays even when not the primary receiver, in addition to routinely making the catch.

In every game but one Smith had at least one reception and despite missing last week still ranks second in targets, touchdowns, first downs and longest reception for the wide receiver position. In his place last week, Moore enjoyed his most impressive game to date and he should again be a focal point of the offense on Sunday.

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Smith had not participated at all during practice this week so his game day determination comes as no surprise on a Panthers team that is otherwise relatively healthy. After suffering an onslaught of injuries early in training camp and the preseason, the Panthers depth has been tested this year at a variety of different positions.

At quarterback, Newton was limited each of the past two weeks during practice but showed no ill effects of the lay off during another impressive performance over the Baltimore Ravens No. 1 ranked defense last week.

The Panthers signal-caller has been playing at an MVP level despite dealing with shoulder soreness as a result of rotator cuff surgery prior to last season. Hopefully limiting his practice repetitions continues allowing him to be ready on game day as the season progresses.

The Panthers and Buccaneers kick off inside Bank of America Stadium on Sunday (11/4) at 1:00pm ET.