Jaycee Horn’s promising career start comes to an abrupt halt at Texans

The Carolina Panthers lost another influential figure on Thursday night when cornerback Jaycee Horn was carted off with an apparent injury.

As if losing Christian McCaffrey wasn’t bad enough.

The Carolina Panthers also received a concerning turn of events surrounding their rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn. The No. 8 overall selection seemed to get his feet stuck in the artificial turf at NRG Stadium with nobody around him, leaving the player having to rely on coaches to get him to the wide lines.

This was the last thing anybody associated with the Panthers wanted to see. Horn is a key component to an exceptional defensive unit, hitting the ground running after the South Carolina product emerged as one of the team’s top priorities during the 2021 NFL Draft evaluation process.

It wasn’t long before the cart came out for Horn, who took his cleat off immediately and appeared to be in some real discomfort following the incident.

Jaycee Horn has been fantastic for the Carolina Panthers.

Horn has been nothing short of a revelation since arriving in Carolina.

He’s brought a swagger to the organization that’s been sorely lacking within the secondary, with his blossoming partnership alongside Donte Jackson leaving plenty of reasons to be encouraged.

Much like the situation with McCaffrey, all Panthers fans can do is hope for the best.

But expect the worst.

Carolina opted not to activate A.J. Bouye for the contest despite the former Pro Bowler being eligible to return from suspension. That will not be the case in Week 4 at the Dallas Cowboys if Horn is forced to miss the game.

It’s not uncommon to see players going down with injuries on Thursday night. The short week and little recovery time dictate such issues.

But the almighty dollar will always matter more to the NFL.

Collective breath holding is the order of the day where Horn is concerned. If the injury is as bad as it looked, the player could be set for a lengthy absence.

He’s a strong character. So no doubt he’ll be able to bounce back from such a disappointment in only his third career NFL game.

However, this is the last thing the Panthers needed. To put it mildly.