With the Carolina Panthers getting frighteningly minimal production out of the tight end position over the past handful of seasons, Hayden Hurst was brought on this spring to help spark a change. But it might be a little difficult for him to do that at the moment.
On Monday morning, head coach Frank Reich was asked about the absences of Hurst and cornerback CJ Henderson from the first outing of organized team activities. He said the following:
“CJ had a personal matter to attend to and Hayden did have a procedure. He did have a procedure. A sports hernia procedure that he’s recovering from. But prognosis is good. He’s on track. So, all good there.”
Hurst agreed to a three-year, $21.7 million deal with the Panthers back on March 15. The 29-year-old is coming off one of his best pro campaigns—having reeled in 52 receptions, 414 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
Reich was then asked by Joe Person of The Athletic if the team has a timeline on Hurst’s recovery.
“I don’t know the exact timeline, Joe,” he replied. “It wasn’t recent that he had it, so I think we’re good on the timeline. He’s making progress every week. I don’t have a date off the top of my head of expected to be back full speed though.”
The Panthers also kept out defensive end Brian Burns, cornerback Donte Jackson and right guard Austin Corbett—all of whom are recovering from surgeries of their own.
