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.

The Panthers have placed 28-year old linebacker Landon Johnson on the Injured Reserve List with a severe knee sprain.  Johnson played in 10 games for the Panthers this season and he had 20 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  In his two years with the Panthers, Johnson has played in 25 games in which he has 36 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  This injury really hurts the Panthers who are already without Thomas Davis for the year.

The Panthers have lost standout left tackle Jordan Gross for the year due to a broken right ankle.  He started all nine games for the Panthers this season and he was doing a good job of blocking the blind side for Jake Delhomme.  Starting left guard Travelle Wharton will shift to Gross’ spot and he should do a decent job as he has started all 9 games for the Panthers this year.  Mackenzy Bernadeau will replace Wharton as the new starting left guard and that’s not likely too good of a thing for the Panthers.  He has played in all 9 games (0 starts) for the Panthers this season and he didn’t play at all as a rookie last year.  Look for the interior running game of the Panthers to suffer a little bit with Wharton now playing on the outside.

The Panthers have lost Thomas Davis for the year due to a torn right ACL.  Davis played in 7 games for the Panthers this season and he made 61 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, he defensed 5 passes, had 1.5 sacks and he had 2 interceptions.  Davis will be replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Landon Johnson who was a 4-year starter for the Bengals before signing with the Panthers.  He has played in 8 games this season and he has 7 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  Landon Johnson should do a solid job filling in for Davis who has made a stunning transformation into a linebacker as he was a safety when the Panthers drafted him.