30-year old WR Steve Smith’s season is over due to a broken forearm.  Smith played in 15 games for the Panthers this season and he caught 65 passes for 982 yards (15.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 5 times for 22 yards (4.4 ypc).  Smith will be missed big time this weekend against the Saints.  Kenny Moore will start in Smith’s place this weekend.  He has played in 11 games for the Panthers this season and he has caught 6 passes for 59 yards (9.8 avg).

The Panthers have placed 34-year old QB Jake Delhomme on the Injured Reserve List ending his season because of a broken finger.  Delhomme played in 11 games for the Panthers this season and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,015 yards with 8 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards (3.5 ypc) this year.  Delhomme will have to fight next training camp for his starting job especially if Matt Moore finishes the year strong.

The Panthers will be without 23-year old OT Jeff Otah for the rest of the year due to a knee injury.  Otah played in 13 games (all starts) for the Panthers.  In his two years with the Panthers, Otah has played in 25 games (all starts).  The Panthers have to be a little discouraged that Otah has not proven that he can handle a whole season yet physically.  But, he is a solid football player and they will miss him big time the last three weeks of the year.   Geoff Schwartz will replace Otah in the starting line-up.  He has played in 13 games (0 starts) this season for the Panthers.

The Panthers have lost DT Tank Tyler for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.  Tyler played in 6 games for the Panthers this season making 8 tackles.  He finishes his season playing in 12 games for the Panthers & Chiefs this season in which he made 30 tackles.  The Panthers will miss Tyler the rest of the year but the 24-year old will get a chance to be a big part of the future starting next season.

Starting QB Jake Delhomme has a broken finger on his throwing hand and it could cause him to miss some time.  Delhomme has played in 11 games this season for the Panthers and he has completed 178 of 321 passes (55.5%) for 2,015 yards with 8 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 60 yards (3.5 ypc) so far this season.  This makes things easier for Coach Fox who has likely wanted to bench Delhomme for his poor play for quite some time now.  Matt Moore will practice with the first team until they make a decision on Delhomme.  Moore has played in 2 games for the Panthers this season and he has completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 63 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (30.9 QB Rating).  A.J. Feeley will move up to the second team for the Panthers with Delhomme injured.  As bad as Delhomme has played this season the Panthers can’t do much worse with Moore or Feeley starting for them.