Panthers News: Ikem Ekwonu, Xavier Woods, Jake Luton and power rankings

Carolina Panthers get Xavier Woods injury blow

Players were dropping like flies at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. This added to the growing list of injury problems for the Carolina Panthers, which is the last thing a team relatively devoid of efficient depth needs sitting at 0-3 to begin the 2023 campaign.

While there is expected to be good news surrounding Frankie Luvu's hip complication, the same cannot be said for veteran safety Xavier Woods. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the former sixth-round selection is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks with a hamstring issue, which is likely going to put him on injured/reserve in the not-too-distant future.

This is a body low considering how important Woods is to the team from a production and communication standpoint. The Panthers still have Vonn Bell on the backend and the coaching staff also has the option of switching Jeremy Chinn back to his college position despite his deficiencies in coverage.

Another potential option is having Sam Franklin Jr. get more starting reps on defense. But with Jaycee Horn still out and C.J. Henderson's status for Week 4 hanging in the balance, things seem to be completely unraveling on the health front.

Minnesota might be struggling on defense, but their high-octane passing attack remains a significant threat. Woods won't get the chance to go up against his old employers, which will raise the eyebrows of Kirk Cousins and his exceptional weapons heading into Sunday's clash.