The middle of the Carolina Panthers defense will be missing more than just its captain this week.
After confirming the news of Shaq Thompson’s season-ending Achilles tear, head coach Dave Canales provided a not-so-encouraging update on his other starting (and injured) inside linebacker—Josey Jewell.
“Josey had a hamstring and a groin pop up,” Canales stated on Monday. “So two things that he’s gonna be dealing with here for a couple of weeks. So we do not expect Josey to be up this week.”
Jewell made an early exit from yesterday’s 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The seventh-year veteran recorded 30 tackles and a fumble recovery over his first four games with the Panthers in 2024.
Canales was then asked about Jewell’s replacement for the upcoming matchup with the Chicago Bears.
“Yeah, Claudin Cherelus is gonna have a great opportunity to play some football for us,” he replied. “A guy that really took strides in camp, and a guy that we’re definitely looking forward to seeing out there to play football. For he and Trevin [Wallace] to start communicating and be able to work with the whole group.”
Cherelus played nine defensive snaps in the Week 4 defeat. He recorded two tackles.
