The Carolina Panthers will head into Sunday’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers short-handed off the edge, and Jaelan Phillips is the biggest name on that list.
Phillips has been ruled out for Week 7 because of a hamstring injury, according to Carolina’s final injury report. He missed every practice this week - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - and head coach Dave Canales had already been preparing for the possibility that Phillips would not be available.
It’s a tough loss for Carolina’s pass rush. Phillips has played in five games this season and has put up 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks. With him sidelined, the Panthers lose one of their more experienced edge defenders just as Tampa Bay comes in with an offensive line that has had issues keeping quarterbacks clean.
Carolina will be missing another edge rusher, too. Thomas Incoom has also been ruled out after dealing with a calf injury and sitting out all three practices.
That opens the door for more work from Princely Umanmielen, who is listed behind Phillips on the team’s official depth chart and is expected to see an expanded role on Sunday. Patrick Jones II and Trevis Gipson are also part of the edge rotation. Canales also pointed to practice-squad rusher Nick Hampton as a possible depth option, though that would require a roster elevation.
The Panthers’ depleted front could help Tampa Bay in a few ways. The Buccaneers rank 30th in sacks allowed per pass attempt at 11.34%, according to their Week 7 preview, but they’re also expected to get Baker Mayfield back after he missed three games with a dislocated right thumb. Tampa Bay will still be without starting right tackle Luke Goedeke, who is out with a calf injury.
Even with Phillips unavailable, the Panthers can’t let Mayfield get comfortable. The Buccaneers were sacked five times by Pittsburgh last week, and protecting their quarterback remains a major concern.
There’s also a path for Tampa Bay to lean on the ground game. Carolina is allowing 132.2 rushing yards per game, while the Buccaneers are averaging 127.8 on the ground. If Tampa Bay can establish Bucky Irving early, it can stay out of long-yardage situations and take pressure off its returning quarterback.
Carolina’s final Week 7 injury report listed Phillips and Incoom as the only players ruled out. Rookie tackle Monroe Freeling and linebacker Bam Martin-Scott are questionable, though both practiced fully all week. Martin-Scott remains in his designated-to-return window and still has to be activated before he can play.
Several Panthers carry no game designation: Bryce Young, Chuba Hubbard, A.J. Dillon, Taylor Moton, Devin Lloyd and Darren Waller.
Carolina enters Sunday at 3-2, with a thinner edge-rushing group set to test itself against a Tampa Bay offense that could get a boost from Mayfield’s return.
In Other News...
Bucs Get Encouraging Injury News With Sunday Still In Doubt
Several Buccaneers moved back onto the practice field after dealing with illnesses, giving Tampa Bay at least a bit of momentum heading into a divisional matchup with Carolina. Bucky Irving and Zyon McCollum were limited participants, while Calijah Kancey was able to take part fully, a welcome sign for a team trying to get healthier at the right time.
Emeka Egbuka was still absent from practice, and that puts more pressure on an already fluid receiver situation as Sunday approaches. The other name to watch is along the offensive line, where Luke Goedekes status remains unsettled, leaving the Bucs with a couple of important questions to answer before the final injury report is set. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Head Into Week 7 With Injury Concerns On Both Sides
The Buccaneers are heading into Week 7 with a noticeably thinned-out roster, as the team has officially ruled out wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, offensive tackle Luke Goedeke, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Egbuka has given Tampa Bay production in his second season, piling up 28 receptions and two touchdowns in six games, while Goedekes absence adds another hit to the offensive line at a time when depth is already a concern.
Winfields status remains a particularly frustrating part of the picture for Tampa Bay because the safety has been dealing with a rib fracture and has already missed two games. With three key contributors unavailable, the Buccaneers will have to lean on their depth again on both sides of the ball, and the ripple effects of those absences could shape how they approach the week ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious Over This Week 5 Call
The league has already acknowledged what Buccaneers fans saw in real time during Week 5: an officiating mistake left Calijah Kancey on the wrong end of an illegal hands to the face penalty that never should have been his. The call came at a costly moment, and for Tampa Bay it was the kind of flag that can swing a drive, a possession and the mood of an entire game.
What makes the miscue sting even more is that the error was not subtle on review. An NFL officiating analyst said the league office should have stepped in right away and fixed it, which only adds to the frustration around a call that landed on the wrong player and stayed there. For a Bucs team and fan base already living with every break mattering, this was one of those moments that is hard to shrug off. [Read more 🡒]