Panthers Place Taylor Heinicke On IR
The Panthers have a new quarterback. On Wednesday, Carolina placed Taylor Heinicke on injured reserve and signed Garrett Gilbert to replace him. 
Heinicke took over as the starting QB after Cam Newton was shut down due to a shoulder injury. Then, on Sunday against the Falcons, Heinicke fell hard on his elbow in the second quarter. He mustered up the courage to return to the game after a brief exit, but a Wednesday morning MRI revealed a serious injury for the fill-in and it will necessitate a stint on the IR.
With Gilbert in the fold, the Panthers now have two healthy QBs in Heinicke and Kyle Allen. Allen, in all likelihood, will get the start in the Panthers’ season finale.
Gilbert, meanwhile, offers some familiarity with the Panthers’ offense since he was with the team in the in 2017 and the 2018 offseason. For now, he’ll put his opportunity with Orlando Apollos of the AAF on hold for a chance to prove himself on the NFL’s gridiron.
Latest On Panthers’ Quarterbacks
It sounds like Cam Newton will be able to avoid offseason shoulder surgery. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Panthers quarterback doesn’t have any structural damage to his throwing shoulder (Twitter link). This means Newton won’t have to undergo surgery (or deal with the accompanying rehab) during the offseason.
While Newton only recently acknowledged his shoulder injury, Rapoport says the quarterback had been dealing with pain through the second half of the season. This clearly had an impact on his production; over his past three games, Newton threw only two touchdowns vs. six interceptions (he had thrown seven interceptions in his team’s previous 11 games). The Panthers decided to shut down their franchise quarterback, allowing Taylor Heinicke to take over as the starter.
Unfortunately, the former undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion also suffered an injury during yesterday’s loss to the Falcons. Head coach Ron Rivera said Heinicke will undergo an MRI on his elbow today (via ESPN’s David Newton on Twitter). The quarterback was briefly knocked out of yesterday’s game after suffering an elbow injury, but he returned and managed to finish the game. He ended up completing 33 of his 53 pass attempts for 274 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He also added 33 rushing yards.
If Heinicke is unable to go during the team’s season finale against the Saints, Kyle Allen would likely earn the starting nod. The rookie quarterback had a brief cameo during yesterday’s contest, completing all four of his passes for 38 yards. Newton notes that activating Newton “doesn’t sound like an option.” Joe Person of The Athletic tweets that the team could also consider adding signal-caller Garrett Gilbert, who was cut by the team prior to the regular season.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/18/18
Here is the latest from the workout circuit, all links going to Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio’s Twitter account (unless otherwise noted).
Arizona Cardinals
- S Shamarko Thomas (link)
Buffalo Bills
- QB Garrett Gilbert, TE Erik Swoope (visit), QB Logan Woodside (Twitter links via ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak and Field Yates)
Green Bay Packers
- QB Paxton Lynch (link)
Los Angeles Chargers
- DE Avery Ellis (link)
San Francisco 49ers
- DE Terence Fede, LB Lorenzo Mauldin (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- DE Farrington Huguenin (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Greg Auman)
Washington Redskins
- CB Dexter McDougle (Twitter link via Yahoo.com’s Jordan Schultz)
NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Jordan Leslie (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
- LB Junior Sylvestre (link); CBs Sterling Moore, Josh Robinson; K Daniel Carlson, Miles Bergner (link via Caplan)
Denver Broncos
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- RB Akeem Hunt; C Jake Eldrenkamp; Ts Antonio Garcia, De’Ondre Wesley; G Landon Turner (link)
Green Bay Packers
- LBs Josh Carraway, Aaron Wallace (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RBs Matthew Dayes, Orleans Darkwa (link via Caplan)
Los Angeles Chargers
- LBs Jonathan Celestin, Tre’von Johnson; P Shane Tripucka; LS Taybor Pepper (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Anthony Winbush; DBs Xavier Coleman, Ranthony Texada; K Kai Forbath
Miami Dolphins
- Gs Austin Davis, J.J. Dielman; Cs Dillon Day, T.J. Johnson, Jon Toth; T Gerhard de Beer; DTs Xavier Cooper, Will Sutton (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Terrence Fede; LB Tyrone Holmes (link)
New England Patriots
- T Andrew Nelson (link)
New Orleans Saints
- G/T Oday Aboushi; Ts Chaz Green, Austin Howard; Gs Jordan Morgan, Isaiah Williams; CBs De’Vante Bausby, Jeremy Boykins, Byron Maxwell (link)
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Damontre Moore, Jacquies Smith; LBs Travis Feeney, Edmond Robinson; K Nick Novak (link via Caplan)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- CB Herb Waters (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- WR Keon Hatcher; DE Hau’oli Kikaha; LB Chris Odom; CB Kalan Reed; Ss Maurice Alexander, Eddie Pleasant, Jeremy Reaves (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Josh Shaw; S A.J. Howard (link)
Tennessee Titans
- QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Aaron Burbridge, Reggie Davis, Damoun Patterson; LB Antwione Williams (link)
NFL Workout Updates: 9/5/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
- WRs Roger Lewis, Isaac Whitney; OTs Anthony Coyle, Antonio Garcia, Brad Seaton, Jylan Ware; G Sean Harlow; DTs A.J. Francis, Lance McDowell; LBs Jonathan Celestin, Kennan Gilchrist, Emmanuel Smith; CBs Makinton Dorleant, Henre’ Toliver; K Greg Joseph (link)
Detroit Lions
- RB Larry Rose; CBs Johnathan Alston, Leonard Johnson, Jeff Richards, Duke Thomas (link)
Houston Texans
- QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Malachi Dupre, Malik Turner, DeAngelo Yancey; OTs Aaron Evans, Justin Evans, Taylor Hart; David Steinmetz (link)
Indianapolis Colts
- LB Obum Gwacham
Jacksonville Jaguars
- FBs Dimitri Flowers, Jay Prosch; TE Ryan O’Malley; LBs Zaire Anderson, Tre’von Johnson, Corey Nelson (link)
Tennessee Titans
- QB Nick Stevens; WRs Devin Fuller, Francis Owusu (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- CB Christian Campbell (link)
Philadelphia Eagles
- WRs Reggie Davis, Dorren Miller; S Andrew Adams (link)
Panthers Reduce Roster To 53
The Panthers have finalized their team, trimming their roster to 53 players. The team’s moves are below:
Waived:
- QB Kyle Allen
- DE Kiante Anderson
- RB Reggie Bonnafon
- CB Lorenzo Doss
- WR Austin Duke
- WR Mose Frazier
- C Kyle Friend
- QB Garrett Gilbert
- DE Daeshon Hall
- OG Taylor Hearn
- OG Dorian Johnson
- CB Cole Luke
- DT Kendrick Norton
- TE Jason Vander Laan
Waived/reserve:
- RB Elijah Hood
- CB Kevon Seymour
- OT Jeremiah Sirles
Waived/injured:
- WR Jamaal Jones
Terminated vested veteran:
The Panthers also acquired offensive lineman Corey Robinson from the Lions earlier today. The 26-year-old had spent his entire three-year career in Detroit, starting eighth of his 23 games. Carolina sent Detroit a conditional 2020 seventh-rounder in the deal.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/17
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted to active roster: QB Garrett Gilbert
- Waived: DB Dezmen Southward
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted to active roster: LB Hardy Nickerson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LB Josh Keyes
- Waived: LB Nigel Harris
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DT John Hughes
Oakland Raiders
- Waived: LB Tyrell Adams
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to practice squad:
- DB Marcelis Branch
- OT Daniel Brunskill
- WR Deante Burton
- TE Alex Gray
- WR Marvin Hall
- DE J’Terius Jones
- TE Joshua Perkins
- RB Jhurell Pressley
- DT Taniela Tupou
- DT Joe Vellano
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed:
- DB Demetrious Cox
- QB Brad Kaaya (story)
- Waived:
- FB Alex Armah
- Placed on IR:
- CB Corn Elder
- Signed to practice squad:
- QB Garrett Gilbert
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- WR Mose Frazier
- OT Blaine Clausell
- DE Bryan Cox Jr.
- DE Zach Moore
- DE Efe Obada
- DT Eric Crume
- S Damian Parms
- S Dezmen Southward
New Orleans Saints
- Claimed:
- WR Austin Carr (story)
- QB Taysom Hill (story)
- Cut:
- FB John Kuhn (story)
- DE Darryl Tapp
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Alex Jenkins
- OL Landon Turner
- WR Max McCaffrey
- OL Kristjan Sokoli
- TE Garrett Griffin
- LB Adam Bighill
- OL John Fullington
- CB Arthur Maulet
- C Cameron Tom
- WR Travin Dural
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Sterling Bailey
- LB Riley Bullough
- RB Russell Hansbrough
- FB Austin Johnson
- S Isaiah Johnson
- G Michael Liedtke
- T Marquis Lucas
- WR Freddie Martino
- CB Jonathan Moxey
- WR Bobo Wilson
Panthers Cut QBs Joe Webb, Garrett Gilbert
Cam Newton is back to full health and the Panthers are back to two quarterbacks. The team has released Joe Webb and waived Garrett Gilbert, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Webb, 30, has always been an intriguing talent because of his ability to play both quarterback and wide receiver. Webb vacillated between the two positions during his time with the Vikings and although he intended to make the full-time switch to wide receiver/special teams, he wound up being listed as the Panthers’ third-string QB upon joining them in 2014. He re-upped with Carolina on a two-year deal last spring, but he is being let out of the commitment early.
Gilbert, a former sixth-round pick, has spent time with the Rams, Patriots, Lions, Raiders, and Panthers, but has yet to take a real NFL snap. On the plus side, he has a Super Bowl ring thanks to his time on the Patriots’ practice squad in 2014-15.
Panthers Sign QB Garrett Gilbert
With Cam Newton set to have surgery, the Panthers have added another quarterback. ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed Garrett Gilbert.
We learned earlier this week that Newton was set to undergo surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder. The former MVP is expected to miss offseason workouts, but he should be recovered for the start of training camp. Besides Newton (and Gilbert), the Panthers are currently rostering quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Joe Webb.
Gilbert, a former sixth-round pick, entered the league in 2014. The Southern Methodist product has spent time with the Rams, Patriots, Lions, Raiders, and Panthers. The 25-year-old has yet to make an appearance in a regular season contest. He was on New England’s practice squad during the 2014-15 season, so he is the owner of a Super Bowl ring.