Carolina Panthers week 13 injury report holds no major surprises

For the most part, the Carolina Panthers injury report was as expected.

The final Carolina Panthers injury report was released on Friday and although there were no major surprises, one name is certainly a disappointing sight to see.

Wide receiver Devin Funchess participated in practice on Friday and head coach Ron Rivera said that his condition was “probable.” This is certainly good news as the wide receiver remains a key part of the Panthers passing attack.

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Cornerback Donte Jackson saw limited action against the Seattle Seahawks as he was hurt on the first play of the game. However, he practiced in full pads on Friday and is expected to make the start on Sunday. We saw how much the Panthers passing defense struggled with him on the sideline, so it will certainly be nice to have him back in action. The team will need him against a Buccaneers wide receiving group that can make big plays in a hurry.

One of the players whose status I was interested in seeing was safety Da’Norris Searcy. He will not suit up for Sunday’s game, but the Panthers have removed him off of the injured reserve list. For a Panthers defense that is struggling containing big plays, that is certainly welcome news. If they can get Searcy back, he should be able to help them.

All and all, this is a very encouraging injury report. In Jackson and Funchess, those could potentially be two playmakers at the Panthers disposal on Sunday. Especially as the team heads into the final stretch of the regular season, Carolina needs to have all their players available. It became quite obvious last Sunday that the Panthers defense depends on Jackson a bit more than we thought. Having him out there again should give the secondary a boost as they look to rebound from a poor performance last Sunday.

Funchess gives Cam Newton another weapon in the passing game. Although his receiving numbers have not been there to this point in the season, he can redeem himself over these next couple of games to conclude the season. We know that he has top wide receiver talent, it is more of a question of making himself stand out among a plethora of Panther weapons. Hopefully, he is at full strength to go up against the Buccaneers secondary.

This is not the worst injury report we have seen this season. Truthfully, what matters now is making sure that everyone is healthy for the stretch run. If the Panthers want to secure their spot in the playoffs, they need to make sure that all systems are a go.