CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The Panthers didn't need anything else to go wrong.
5-6 and looking up at the NFC playoff picture, the last thing that Carolina was looking for was the injury bug to bite.
The Panthers placed guard Greg Van Roten (foot) and nose tackle Dontari Poe (quad) on injured reserve (IR) Wednesday. In their place, the team added defensive linemen Stacy McGee and Woodrow Hamilton, who spent the preseason with Carolina.
Losing two starters is never a good thing no matter the circumstances. But these two losses in particular, on a team that already had multiple starters on IR _ Cam Newton, Graham Gano and Kawann Short _ will hurt down the stretch. Those injuries were spread throughout the season, but losing two prominent players at once will be a significant test.
"The biggest thing is (the injuries) seem to take turns," coach Ron Rivera said. "Our depth has been pretty good and helped us in those situations, same thing with our defensive back position, probably the toughest thing we've had to deal with is when Ross Cockrell's been hurt at the same time we had Donte (Jackson) down. It's kind of created some tough situations for us, but because our depth has been decent, we've been able to suffice with the replacements because they're more than just average, they've been pretty good."
Leading up to the Sunday's loss at the Saints, the game in which Von Roten and Poe were injured, Van Roten had been the only offensive player to have played every snap this season and was a steady presence on an offensive line that has featured rookies and reshuffling. Last year, he was the only Panther to play 100% of snaps (1,058).
To make matters worse, the offensive line had already been a weak spot. Despite starting only nine games, quarterback Kyle Allen is tied with Deshaun Watson for the fifth-most sacked player this season. On seven occasions, he has been sacked three-plus times, tied with four other players, including Jameis Winston, for the most such games this year.
"It's going to be very hard (to replace Van Roten), because Greg's been very steady for us," Rivera said. "He's done a lot of good things, he's a smart football player and communicates well. We've had a couple guys who have had to play for us this year, on the inside and they'll get opportunities to see which one will do the best job for us, we feel good about who those back-ups are and we'll just continue to work and we'll see by Sunday."
Daryl Williams will likely now shift over to left guard to fill Van Roten's spot, but, as Rivera said, replacing him isn't easy and protecting Allen will become even harder. The veteran has given up just one sack this season, according to Pro Football Focus, fewest among Panthers starting offensive linemen. In terms of the running game, it's hard to imagine McCaffrey will slow down too much, but not having Van Roten out there, can only hurt his MVP campaign.
Earlier this week, the Panthers also moved offensive lineman Garrett McGhin from the practice squad to the active roster to help bolster the line.
On defense, Poe is the second lineman the Panthers have lost (Short) on a unit that has struggled to defend against the run. Carolina has given up 100-plus rushing yards in nine games this season, tied for the second-most such games behind the Cardinals. They are the 27th-ranked run defense overall, allowing 127.5 yards per game.
Poe had four sacks this season, his most since 2014 (six). Defensive coordinator Eric Washington recently called him the most underrated member of the team's defense.
The replacement for Poe will likely be McGee, who last played in eight games for Washington last year. The Panthers are in a position where players who don't have much experience playing on this defense need to jump in at the end of the season.
Two position groups for the Panthers that have been trouble areas as of late are now without key players. Left tackle Greg Little also didn't practice Wednesday with an ankle injury after missing seven games this year due to concussions. While both lines have already dealt with change this season, injuries are never good, and the Panthers' depth will be put to the test again.
With two games left against division opponents they have already lost to this year (Saints and Falcons) and a matchup with the 9-2 Seahawks on the horizon, the Panthers may be in for a long next five games.
