Here’s all you need to know about the state of the defending NFC champs. It’s the Carolina Panthers’ updated offensive line roster ahead of their Week 13 trip to Seattle:
G — Trai Turner, Andrew Norwell, Chris Scott, David Yankey, Tyler Larsen
T — Mike Remmers, Daryl Williams, Dan France
C — Ryan Wendell
The Panthers on Tuesday placed Ryan Kalil and Gino Gradkowski on injured reserve, which is where left tackle Michael Oher finally landed last week after missing more than two months with a concussion.
After Kalil had aggravated his sprained shoulder in the Panthers’ Thursday night win over the Saints, there was some hope he could rotate starts with Gradkowski as long as the playoffs remained a legit possibility. But Gradkowski, who was playing through a knee injury, was rolled up on during Sunday’s loss in Oakland that dropped the Panthers to 4-7.
Before Gradkowski left after the final play of the third quarter, Williams sprained his ankle late in the second. That meant the Panthers limped to the finish with only Norwell playing in his natural spot.
“It’s about as catastrophe as you can get,” coach Ron Rivera said Monday before admitting the Panthers’ magical 2015 season was buoyed by a relatively healthy run.
“At the end of the day, it’s the teams that do stay healthy that seem to have better opportunities.”
It’s unclear how the line will start out against the Seahawks, but it could be how it finished in Oakland:
LT — Remmers
LG — Norwell
C — Larsen
RG — Scott
RT — Turner
For Kalil, this year marks just the second time since 2009 the five-time Pro Bowler has missed multiple games in a season. A broken foot limited him to five games in 2012.
The Panthers filled their two open roster spots with France and Wendell.
France, who’s spent time on practice squads in Cincinnati and Cleveland, has never appeared in a regular-season game.
Wendell, who started the bulk of 2012-14 in New England, hasn’t played in any game — preseason or regular season — since midway through last year.
The Panthers also added Jake Rodgers and Tyrus Thompson, a former roommate of Williams, who’s the godfather of Thompson’s daughter.