Panthers K Eddy Pineiro is officially inactive for a Week 18 matchup with Tampa Bay.
Fantasy Impact: Pineiro is dealing with a hamstring injury and will sit out the team’s regular season finale. The team will turn the kicking duties over to Matthew Wright on Sunday.
Carolina Panthers RB Miles Sanders returned to practice on Thursday and was a full participant after being absent with an illness on Wednesday. (Source: panthers.com)
Fantasy Impact: With a full return, it can be expected that Sanders will be available in the season finale for Carolina. Sanders was phased out of the offense after the Panthers' bye in favor of Chuba Hubbard, but he found a role again midseason. However, he has recently fallen back out of favor, toting the rock just 11 times in the last three weeks. If you're playing for a title game in Week 18, there are better options available.
Carolina Panthers WR DJ Chark Jr. was a full participant in practice on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday with a foot injury. (Source: panthers.com)
Fantasy Impact: The Panthers aren't playing for much anymore but pride, and despite signs of life against Green Bay, the team's offense has not been anything to write home about. Chark has not been a focal point of the offense, though he has had a few productive outings. Going against a Tampa Bay team with playoff aspirations on the line, expect the defense to give everything they have to further stifle Carolina's offense, making Chark a risky bet in deeper fantasy leagues.
The Carolina Panthers placed Jonathan Mingo on injured reserve. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Mingo ends his rookie season having caught 43 passes on 85 targets for 418 yards.
Jaycee Horn has been listed questionable for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. (Source: Adam Caplan on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Horn returned to practice on Friday, giving him a chance to play on Sunday after he missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He appears on track to being able to play following his return to practice on Friday.
Troy Hill was sidelined from practice on Thursday. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Hill will have a couple more days to clear concussion protocol to have a chance of playing this weekend.
Adam Thielen was sidelined at practice on Wednesday. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: It seems to be a normal day off for Thielen. The veteran caught six passes for 94 yards this past week and remains in the mid-to-low-end WR2 conversation this week.
Chuba Hubbard was a limited participant at practice on Wednesday. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Hubbard saw 16 carries this past week after three straight games seeing over 20 carries. He will remain a strong RB2 play this week.
Tommy Tremble is dealing with an illness and was therefore held out of practice. (Source: Panthers.Com)
Fantasy Impact: Tremble is coming off a season-high in yards during the Panthers' Week 15 win over Atlanta. The problem for anybody with Tremble on their team is that the season-high yards mark was 34. Nonetheless, if Tremble can recover in time for the team's Week 16 game against Green Bay, he will look to build off that performance.
Ian Thomas has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Falcons. (Source: Joe Person on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: It will be Tommy Tremble and Stephen Sullivan leading the Panthers' tight end room with Hayden Hurst placed on IR. Neither of them are fantasy relevant.
The Carolina Panthers have placed Hayden Hurst on IR, ending his season. (Source: Joe Person on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Hurst was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Amnesia in his return to practice from a concussion that he suffered back in Week 10. He tweeted that it was not career ending, but he'll be sidelined the rest of this season. Hurst finishes the year having caught 18 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers placed WR Laviska Shenault Jr. on the injured reserve. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: The earliest Shenault can return now is in Week 17, so it is possible he is done for the season. He has caught 10 passes to go along with 12 carries so far this year. Shenault will be a free agent in the offseason.
Brian Burns is absent from practice on Friday. (Source: Ian Rapoport on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: It is a downgrade after Burns was limited in practice on Thursday. It's reportedly not related to the trade rumors.
Jeremy Chinn will be out for up to six weeks because of a quad injury. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Chinn is dealing with a fairly serious quad injury that could leave him sidelined for up to six weeks. He won't need surgery, but his recovery will still take a while, which makes him a prime candidate to land on the team's injured reserve. He's been a good defender for them over the past couple of years and his production will be hard to replace moving forward.
Derrick Brown (knee/ankle) will play in Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins. (Source: Joe Person on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Brown is dealing with a pair of injuries that initially left him on the team's injury report heading into the day Sunday. Neither of them are more than a minor issue, however, and he will be active and good to go against the Dolphins. His presence in the middle of the defensive line is crucial to Carolina slowing down what is a potent Dolphins' running game.
Panthers QB Bryce Young (ankle) has been cleared and will play Sunday against Minnesota. (Source: Ari Meirov on Twitter )
Fantasy Impact: Young has practiced in full this week and will return to action after missing one game. Even with Young’s return, fantasy managers should be cautious about returning him to their starting lineups. Young will need to play better before becoming a reliable option weekly.
Carolina Panthers LB Frankie Luvu upgraded from his Wednesday DNP to a limited practice as he deals with a hip injury. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Luvu has played in all three games for the Panthers this season, playing 82% of the snaps and recording 18 tackles and four pressures. Luvu was a breakout player for Carolina last season (90.1 run-defense grade per PFF) and is an important part of Carolina's defense.
Carolina Panthers CB CJ Henderson said that he is not 100% right now but plans to play Week 4 despite his ankle injury. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Henderson has played in all three games for the Panthers so far, starting two of them. Though he hasn't graded out particularly well according to PFF (58.5 coverage grade), he has played plenty (58% of defensive snaps). He will have a busy day against Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings, whom Henderson called a top-five WR.
Shaq Thompson has been diagnosed with a fractured fibula and is likely out for the rest of the season. (Source: Steve Reed on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Thompson went down with an injury during Monday's loss to the Saints, and it now has been diagnosed as a fractured fibula that is expected to sideline him for the remainder of the season. This is a devastating blow for Carolina’s already-thin defense. The veteran was a team captain and one of the cornerstones of this unit, so now they'll have to reach down the depth chart to try to find someone who can replace his production.
Raheem Blackshear is officially inactive for Carolina's Week 2 matchup against the Saints. (Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: With Blackshear inactive we can expect Miles Sanders to receive the majority of the Panthers workload, with Chuba Hubbard serving as the primary backup.
