The Carolina Panthers have lost 25-year old Geoff Schwartz for the season due to a hip injury. Schwartz played in 16 games (all starts) for the Panthers last year.  He has played in 32 games (19 starts) in his first two years with the Panthers.  This is a big blow for the Panthers, who had Schwartz penciled in as the starting right guard in 2011.

The Panthers will probably be without 25-year old QB Tony Pike for probably the whole 2011 season as he has underwent elbow surgery.  Pike played in 1 game as a rookie last year for the Panthers and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).  The Panthers won’t miss Pike as they have Cam Newton, Jimmy Clausen and Derek Anderson ready to go at QB in 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have waived Tony Pike.

The Carolina Panthers have lost 25-year old TE Gary Barnidge for the 2011 season after he broke his ankle in last night’s game against the Dolphins.  Barnidge played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Panthers last year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Barnidge has played in 47 games (16 starts) in his three years with the Panthers and he has caught 12 passes for 242 yards (20.2 avg) without scoring any TDs.  The Panthers are loaded at TE for 2011, so they shouldn’t miss Barnidge too much.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have placed Gary Barnidge on the Injured Reserve List, officially ending his season.

The Panthers have lost 23-year old WR David Gettis for the 2011 season as he tore his left ACL in practice.  Gettis played in 15 games (13 starts) as a rookie last year and he caught 37 passes for 508 yards (13.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Gettis was projected to be one of the Panthers’ starting receivers in 2011.  The Panthers now need Legedu Naanee and Brandon LaFell to step up to make up for the loss of Gettis.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Panthers have placed David Gettis on the Injured Reserve List, ending his 2011 season.

The Carolina Panthers have lost 32-year old DT Ron Edwards and 22-year old rookie guard Zachary Williams for the rest of the season due to injury.  Edwards tore his triceps and Williams tore his left ACL during practice the other day.  Losing Edwards is a big blow to the Panthers as they were expecting him to get a lot of playing time on the interior of the D-Line.  Williams is more of a developmental project but this will be a set back for him.

The Panthers have placed 29-year old LG Travelle Wharton on the Injured Reserve List due to turf toe.  Wharton played in 9 games (all starts) for the Panthers this year.  Wharton has now played in 83 games (all starts) in his first seven years with the Panthers.  24-year old Mackenzy Bernadeau will continue to start at LG the rest of the year and he is doing a good job.  He has played in 13 games (9 starts) so far this year and he has played in 29 games (16 starts) in his first three years for the Panthers.

The Panthers have lost 24-year old linebacker Jason Williams for the rest of the year due to a torn ACL.  Williams played in 4 games for the Panthers this year and he had 16 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Williams has now played in 14 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 22 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  This is a blow to the Panthers’ defense as they liked what they saw out of him after picking him up from the Cowboys on waivers.

The Panthers have lost 23-year old DE Everette Brown for the rest of the year due to a wrist injury.  Brown played in 13 games for the Panthers this year and he had 25 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble.  Brown has now played in 28 games in his first two years with the Panthers and he has 47 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  The Panthers are going to miss Brown a little bit.

The Panthers have placed 24-year old rookie QB Tony Pike on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a shoulder injury.  Pike played in 1 game for the Panthers this season and he was 6 of 12 (50%) passing for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  The Panthers have signed 25-year old QB Keith Null off the practice squad and he will likely be the Panthers’ #2 QB this weekend in Seattle with Brian St. Pierre’s shoulder still bothering him.  Null played in 4 games as a rookie with the Rams last season and he completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3%) for 566 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (49.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 6 yards (1.2 ypc) last season.  The Panthers better hope that Jimmy Clausen stays healthy.

Rookie QB Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion on the last play of the game last week against the Buccaneers and it’s looking like he won’t be playing this weekend against the Ravens.  Clausen has played in 7 games for the Panthers so far this year and he has completed 67 of 138 passes (48.6%) for 692 yards with 1 TD pass and 4 INTs (53.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 43 yards (2.5 ypc) so far this year.  Clausen’s rookie season has been like a train wreck as he was thrown to the wolves before he was ready to start in the NFL.