After a three-week absence that began at the start of training camp, Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Marquis Haynes Sr. hit the practice field for the first time on Aug. 22. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the better.
On Monday, the Panthers placed the sixth-year defender on injured reserve due to his back injury. Reich, after the day’s walkthrough, would later tell reporters that Haynes Sr. sustained a setback in that return.
Buy Panthers Tickets“He did have a little setback when he went out and tested it the one day,” Reich said. “He just had a little setback.”
Haynes Sr., who was “1000 percent” confident he’d be ready for the season opener, will now miss at least the first four games of the campaign. So, who—behind starters Brian Burns and Justin Houston—has to be ready in his place?
“Well, just the entire group, really,” Reich replied when asked who will have to step up. “The thing is with Marquis—because he hasn’t practiced for the last month, although we were kinda anticipating there was a chance he was gonna be ready—we’ve been playin’ like he wasn’t gonna be ready. So everybody’s gotten a lot of reps. So I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Carolina’s other edge defenders on the active roster currently include Yetur Gross-Matos, Amaré Barno and rookie DJ Johnson.
