Trevin Wallace braced for rookie baptism amid Carolina Panthers injury crisis

It never rains where the Carolina Panthers are concerned. It pours.

No sooner had the Panthers suffered their third defeat in four contests and 17th loss in the last 20 regular-season games against the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Dave Canales received another crippling blow. Veteran linebacker and locker room talisman Shaq Thompson tore his Achilles on the much-maligned Bank of America Stadium turf in Week 4 and won't play another snap this season.

With his contract up next spring, there's a very real chance Thompson may have played his final down for the team that selected him at No. 25 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. Dan Morgan will want to do right by a player who's given the Panthers so much. But there's just no telling how things will unfold right now.

As always with the Panthers, it's next man up. With veteran free-agent signing Josey Jewell also set to miss a week if not more, this seems like a good time to throw Trevin Wallace into the fire and see how he gets on.

Carolina Panthers need rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace to step up

Morgan saw something in Wallace that others didn't do during his pre-draft evaluations. The Panthers ignored other more perceived pressing needs to take the former Kentucky star at No. 72 overall. It was a controversial move at the time, but his impressive integration over the summer alleviated some concerns.

Wallace has sat behind Thompson and Jewell more often than not this season, featuring mostly on special teams. Asking him to take a giant leap up to the No. 1 linebacking option without the two established veterans is a lot. They must be sure he's up to the challenge, even though the coaching staff doesn't have much choice looking at the other options available.

The Panthers are going nowhere fast despite showing signs of life over the last fortnight. They don't have much to lose by giving Wallace all he can handle at the Chicago Bears in Week 5. If his performance indicates the rookie needs a little extra time before accumulating prominent reps, Morgan can look at some potential practice squad players around the league or free agents still seeking work for a solution.

If Wallace excels, the Panthers potentially have the heir apparent to Thompson, who's one of two remaining players from Carolina's glorious run to the Super Bowl in 2015. That's the best-case scenario for the franchise as part of their long-term planning. Whether it comes to fruition or not is the big question.

The Panthers were always going to see what Wallace could do from a starting berth at some stage. This is arguably way sooner than defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero had in mind, so it'll be a crash course in regular-season involvement for someone with 36 snaps to his name over the first four games.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Losing Thompson is a devastating blow on the field and in the locker room. But this is the opportunity Wallace has been craving since he joined the Panthers.

The time to step up and repay the faith shown in h

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