Each NFC Team’s Largest 2026 Cap Hit
With training camp a few weeks away and the NFL in the midst of a rare quiet period, this is a good time to examine each team’s largest 2026 cap hit. This exercise will take a look at players who are still on their teams’ rosters. That disqualifies massive dead money hits for the likes of Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Derek Carr (Saints) from this edition, which will focus on the NFC.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams ($48.27MM)
One of the league’s most productive quarterbacks throughout his 17-year career, Stafford finally won his first MVP last season. During his first 17-start season since 2021, Stafford guided the Rams to a 12-5 record while leading the league in yards (4,707) and touchdowns (46, against eight interceptions). He was also among the elite in passer rating (second; 109.2) and QBR (fourth; 71.2).
In the playoffs, despite Stafford’s 374-yard, three-TD effort in the conference title game, the Rams dropped a 31-27 nail-biter to the division rival Seahawks. Stafford briefly contemplated retirement afterward, but the 38-year-old is now under contract through 2027 after inking an extension in May.
Looking to take advantage of Stafford’s remaining years as a top-level QB, the Rams added reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and ex-Chiefs starting cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to an already loaded roster over the past few months. They also turned heads in using the 13th overall pick in the draft on a quarterback, Ty Simpson, but he is obviously not a threat to Stafford in the near term.
Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys ($43.51MM)
Prescott was not at his best in 2024, an eight-start season that ended in November with a major hamstring injury, but he returned to Pro Bowl form last year. Thanks in part to the acquisition of wide receiver George Pickens, Prescott led the league with 404 completions, threw for 4,552 yards and tossed 30 touchdowns (against 10 interceptions). Prescott put up a 99.5 passer rating, the 10th-best mark in the league, and ranked an even better fifth in QBR (70.2).
The Cowboys went a lackluster 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year, but Prescott and the offense did their part. A bottom-dwelling defense torpedoed the Cowboys’ chances of contending. Their prolific offense remains intact. If Dallas’ defensive additions pay dividends, Prescott & Co. could return to the playoffs in his age-32 season.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Buccaneers ($39.98MM)
Mayfield remained an above-average starter in 2025, his third year with the Buccaneers, but most of his numbers declined compared to the previous season. Neither the 31-year-old nor the offense as a whole functioned as well under coordinator Josh Grizzard as they did in 2024 under Liam Coen. In fairness to Mayfield and Grizzard, a rash of injuries along the offensive line and at the skill positions didn’t help matters. Those issues contributed to an 8-9 finish for Tampa Bay, which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
The Buccaneers reacted by firing Grizzard and hiring Zac Robinson, who will be Mayfield’s fourth different OC in as many seasons with the club. Franchise institution/potential Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans is also gone (to the 49ers).
Mayfield could follow Evans out the door in a year if he and the Bucs don’t hammer out a contract extension by next March. It has been a month since Mayfield told the media the sides had not made progress toward an agreement. However, there is mutual interest in getting something done before the Bucs open camp in late July, Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline. Unless he adjusts the deadline, the team has a little over three weeks to lock up its two-time Pro Bowl passer.
Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks ($37.9MM)
The Vikings erred in allowing Darnold to leave for Seattle in 2025, when he scored a three-year, $100MM contract in free agency. All Darnold did in the first season of the contract was help the Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship. Darnold posted a 14-3 record for the second straight regular season, in which he completed a career-high 67.7% of attempts, went over the 4,000-yard mark and fired 25 touchdown passes. While he threw 14 INTs in the regular season, he didn’t add to the total in three playoff games, including a Super Bowl LX win over the Patriots.
Darnold was at his best in the aforementioned NFC title game win over the Rams, whom he torched for 346 yards and three TDs. While the Rams are now the betting favorites to win it all this season, Darnold and the reigning champion Seahawks shouldn’t be discounted.
Jared Goff, QB, Lions ($37.6MM)
The Lions’ win total plummeted from 15 in 2024 to nine last year. The six-victory decline led to the Lions missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022, but Goff remained among the game’s most prolific signal-callers. He threw for 4,564 yards and 34 touchdowns, trailing only Stafford (whom he was traded for in 2021) in those categories. Goff also tossed just eight interceptions on 578 attempts and ranked near the top of the league in passer rating (second; 105.5), completion percentage (fifth; 68%), and yards per attempt (sixth; 7.9).
Notably, this will be the third year in a row in which Goff will pair with a different play caller. After Ben Johnson left to become the Bears’ head coach in 2025, the Lions hired John Morton. The decision didn’t go according to plan, as head coach Dan Campbell took Morton’s play-calling duties away during the season and then fired him when it ended. Campbell replaced Morton with Drew Petzing, previously the Cardinals’ OC. Petzing walked into an enviable situation with Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and tight end Sam LaPorta as weapons.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles ($31.97MM)
Hurts took home Super Bowl LIX honors after the Eagles thrashed the Chiefs in February 2025, but the honeymoon didn’t last long. While the Eagles won 11 games and a second consecutive NFC East title, their offense markedly declined under new coordinator Kevin Patullo. With 33 total touchdowns, six interceptions and a 98.5 passer rating, Hurts put up nice numbers en route to a third Pro Bowl nod. But as the leader of the league’s 23rd-ranked passing offense, he was a source of frustration both in the building and among the team’s fans.
Worsening matters, the Eagles’ offense showed little life in a 23-19 loss to the 49ers in the wild-card round. That proved to be the last game as an Eagle for star receiver A.J. Brown, who voiced his dissatisfaction with the offense multiple times throughout the year. After a long-awaited trade with the Patriots came together on June 1, Brown revealed that he and Hurts drifted apart during the season.
Patullo and Brown are out of the organization, meaning Hurts will go into 2026 with another new OC in Sean Mannion and a few new pass catchers (first-rounder Makai Lemon, second-rounder Eli Stowers, Dontayvion Wicks and Marquise Brown) to complement holdovers DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. This will be a crucial season for Hurts, whose five-year, $255MM contract is due to expire after 2027. The Eagles could open talks on an extension next offseason if Hurts performs to their liking in his age-28 campaign.
Jordan Love, QB, Packers ($31.6MM)
It became more obvious last season that the Packers found their third straight franchise QB in Love, who has been up to the mountainous task of following Brett Favre (1992-2007) and Aaron Rodgers (2008-22). Over 15 regular-season starts, Love threw 23 touchdowns against a meager six interceptions. He was also comfortably in the league’s top 10 in QBR (third; 72.7) passer rating (sixth; 101.2) and yards per attempt (eighth; 7.7).
Despite the positives Love showed in his third year as a starter, Green Bay’s season ended in bitter fashion. Not only did the Packers drop their last four regular-season games to finish 9-7-1, but they blew a 21-3 halftime lead in a 31-27 wild-card round loss to the archrival Bears. The defeat came in spite of Love’s 323-yard, four-TD showing.
Daron Payne, DT, Commanders ($27.95MM)
The 6-foot-3, 320-pound Payne has been a full-time starter in seven of eight seasons since the Commanders drafted him 13th overall in 2018. Payne racked up a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2022, his lone Pro Bowl season, and the Commanders kept him around with a four-year, $90MM offer a few months later. Payne is now entering the last year of the pact, but the Commanders do not plan to pursue a new deal until 2027 (if at all). Over 15 starts in 2025, Payne notched 46 tackles, eight QB hits, seven TFL, five pass deflections and three sacks. The 29-year-old came in fifth in run stop win rate, but the defense still surrendered the third-most rushing yards in the league.
Chris Lindstrom, RG, Falcons ($26.25MM)
The durable and dependable Lindstrom has started in all 105 appearances since the Falcons made him the 14th pick in the 2019 draft. In 2023, with Lindstrom then coming off his first Pro Bowl/second-team All-Pro season, former Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot gave him a five-year, $105MM extension. Money well spent, as Lindstrom has since put up three more Pro Bowl/second-team All-Pro campaigns. The 6-4, 310-pounder made his second straight 17-start season in 2025 and finished as Pro Football Focus’ second-ranked guard.
Montez Sweat, DE, Bears ($25.09MM)
The Bears won the NFC North last season despite a below-average pass rush that finished 26th in sacks and 31st in win rate. You can’t blame the Bears’ ineffective rush on Sweat, who easily led the team in pressures (54), QB hits (18) and sacks (10) over a full 17-game schedule. The Bears, who have not made any noteworthy pass-rushing additions since the Rams eliminated them in the divisional round, will count on similar production from Montez in 2026. It will be his age-30 campaign and the second-last season of a four-year, $98MM contract.
Robert Hunt, RG, Panthers ($24.3MM)
Hunt made the Pro Bowl in 2024, the beginning of a five-year, $100MM contract, but an MCL injury wiped out most of his 2025 campaign. He went down in Week 2, landed on IR, and did not return until the postseason. Hunt ended up playing 76% of the Panthers’ offensive snaps in a loss to the Rams in the wild-card round. Now heading into his age-30 season, a healthy Hunt will continue as the Panthers’ No. 1 right guard.
Paulson Adebo, CB, Giants ($24.2MM)
Adebo missed 10 games with a broken femur in 2024, his fourth and final season with the Saints, but that didn’t stop the Giants from giving him a three-year, $54MM deal in free agency. The first season of the contract didn’t go great for Adebo, who sat out five games with a knee injury. Across 12 starts, Adebo tallied 73 tackles, eight passes defensed and an interception. On 80 targets, he yielded a 98.2 passer rating (up from 70.8 the previous year). PFF ranked Adebo a below-average 72nd among 108 qualifiers at his position, though he remains atop the Giants’ depth chart going into Year 2 of his contract. Either Greg Newsome, Deonte Banks or Colton Hood will start on the other side.
Brock Purdy, QB, 49ers ($23.71MM)
This is an eminently reasonable cap hit for a healthy Purdy, who has defied the odds and excelled since he entered the NFL as Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick in the draft) in 2022. San Francisco committed to Purdy on a five-year, $265MM extension in May 2025, but turf toe limited him to nine starts last season.
Despite a rash of injuries to Purdy and other key players, the 49ers still went 12-5 and clinched a playoff berth. Purdy & Co. got a wild-card road win over Philly, but the Seahawks knocked the 49ers out a week later with a 41-6 rout in the divisional round. If Purdy and the 49ers stay relatively healthy this season, they should be legitimate championship contenders.
Brian O’Neill, RT, Vikings ($23.16MM)
The reliable O’Neill has been a full-time starter and a career-long Viking since they took him in the second round of the 2018 draft. Now a two-time Pro Bowler and the longest-tenured Viking, O’Neill is on track to play the final season of his five-year, $92MM contract in 2026. However, the soon-to-be 31-year-old has made it clear he wants to sign a second extension in Minnesota. Given the Vikings’ mutual interest, there is a good chance the sides will work something out this summer. The bigger question may be whether O’Neill will block for newly acquired quarterback Kyler Murray or holdover J.J. McCarthy. Murray and McCarthy will continue to compete for the starting job in the next couple of months.
Budda Baker, S, Cardinals ($19.22MM)
A Cardinal since he came into the league as a second-rounder in 2017, Baker is under contract through 2028 on a three-year, $54MM extension. While his team is expected to contend for the league’s worst record and the No. 1 overall pick, Baker will vie for his eighth straight Pro Bowl and ninth overall. Last season was a mixed bag despite the Pro Bowl selection. The versatile Baker made 16 starts and recorded decent counting starts (120 tackles, five passes defensed and an interception), but PFF rated him a lowly 79th among 84 safeties.
Chris Olave, WR, Saints ($15.49MM)
Olave bounced back from a concussion-marred 2024 to catch 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns over 16 games in 2025. All of those numbers represent career highs for the four-year veteran, who earned a second-team All-Pro nod. Although Olave has been recovering from a blood clot, he is optimistic the Saints will extend him this summer. If not, Olave will play the season on his fifth-year option. The Saints drafted a new No. 2 receiver, first-rounder Jordyn Tyson, to team with Olave and second-year quarterback Tyler Shough.
Information from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.
Panthers Activate G Robert Hunt From IR
The Panthers are big underdogs to the Rams in the wild-card round, having finished 8-9. But the home team will have a key offensive line presence available. Robert Hunt is coming off IR, where he has resided since a Week 2 injury.
Carolina announced Friday Hunt is now activated, and the high-priced guard will start against Los Angeles. A biceps tendon tear has kept Hunt out for nearly four months, but the Panthers will have their two guard starters — Hunt and Damien Lewis — ready for the franchise’s first playoff game in eight years.
[RELATED: Injured Reserve Return Tracker]
Hunt returned to practice on Christmas Eve but was given a ramp-up period despite the Panthers not being on firm playoff footing. The patience ultimately will be rewarded, and Hunt will have a chance to close out his season on a high note. The former Dolphins second-round pick is finishing out the second season of a five-year, $100MM contract.
The Panthers, who have four injury activations remaining, have used Austin Corbett as their other guard. Corbett has yoyoed between guard and center in Carolina. Cade Mays has become the Panthers’ primary center. Hunt, 29, started 16 games last season and had built considerable momentum during his final years in Miami.
ESPN’s run block win rate metric slotted Hunt second among all interior offensive linemen last season. The Panthers have deployed a middling run game this season, despite some quality earlier Rico Dowdle work. They rank 19th in rushing and 27th in scoring offense.
Carolina has been maddeningly inconsistent on offense in Bryce Young‘s third season; Young’s development (or lack thereof at the time) was the key driver for Hunt and Lewis to be given big-ticket FA contracts in 2024. The Panthers will not be expected to beat the Rams twice in one season — well, Vegas certainly doesn’t think this will happen — but they should have a better shot with a key offensive starter back.
Minor NFL Transactions: 1/2/26
Friday’s minor moves and a couple standard gameday practice squad elevations for Saturday’s lineup:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on IR: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Carolina Panthers
- Elevated: CB David Long, LB Jacoby Windmon
Miami Dolphins
- Signed off Commanders’ practice squad: RB Donovan Edwards
- Placed on IR: TE Darren Waller
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed from practice squad: DT Taki Taimani
New Orleans Saints
- Signed from practice squad: WR Ronnie Bell, DE Fadil Diggs, WR Samori Toure
- Placed on IR: CB Michael Davis, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, TE Jack Stoll, WR Mason Tipton
After missing several games down the stretch of the season as he dealt with appendicitis, Harrison returned to play in the Cardinals’ past two games with far fewer snaps than his usual starter’s share. Ahead of the team’s regular season finale, Arizona has shut last year’s No. 4 overall pick down for the small remainder of the regular season.
The same is being done for Waller in Miami. The veteran tight end was able to make his return from retirement with the Dolphins after sitting out in 2024, but injury limited him to only nine contests. He was extremely effective in the short time he played (six touchdowns), but the injuries that bookended his short stints of activity will certainly be brought up in any contract negotiations for him in the future.
The Panthers are choosing not to activate guard Robert Hunt or wide receiver David Moore for tomorrow’s game. If Carolina is able to get into the postseason, an activation could still happen next week.
Diggs had already been elevated three times for New Orleans this season, so the team needed to sign him to the 53-man roster in order for him to appear in the regular season finale.
Panthers Designate Robert Hunt For Return From IR
Carolina has gone through most of 2025 without starting right guard Robert Hunt, but a late-season return from IR is on the table. The Panthers opened his 21-day practice window on Wednesday, per Darin Gantt of the team’s website.
After spending his first four NFL seasons with the Dolphins, Hunt joined the Panthers in March 2024 on a five-year, $100MM agreement. Hunt, who became the fourth guard in history to sign for $20MM-plus per year, started in 16 games and earned his first Pro Bowl nod last season.
This year has been a lost campaign for Hunt, who hasn’t played since suffering a torn biceps in Week 2. The Panthers have still managed an 8-7 record, and they’re holding a slim lead over the Buccaneers in the NFC South with two games left. Carolina won the first meeting between the two teams last Sunday. A rematch in Week 18 could decide the division. It’s unclear whether Hunt will be ready by then.
Hunt’s injury has led to the Panthers using several different options at right guard. Chandler Zavala, Jake Curhan, Brady Christensen, and Austin Corbett have all seen time there in Hunt’s absence. Zavala is now on IR with a knee injury, while Christensen tore his Achilles in late October.
Although Hunt is considered a better run blocker than pass blocker, Carolina ranks a respectable 11th in rushing. Lead back Rico Dowdle has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, but his production has declined since early November. Hunt’s return would aid his cause and perhaps boost the Panthers’ chances of winning the division and making noise in the playoffs.
Panthers Hope To Open RG Robert Hunt’s Practice Window Soon
The 7-6 Panthers find themselves at the top of the NFC South standings, a half-game ahead of the spiraling Bucs. As it pushes for a division title, Carolina hopes to have Pro Bowl right guard Robert Hunt back for at least a portion of the stretch run.
Hunt, one of the Panthers’ two big-ticket free agent investments at the guard position in 2024, sustained a torn biceps in Week 2 and has been on injured reserve ever since. Earlier this week, head coach Dave Canales expressed his hope that the club will be able to open Hunt’s 21-day practice window before the end of the regular season (via Joe Person of The Athletic).
A better run-blocker than pass-blocker, Hunt’s return would add further support to an offense that has produced the 10th-most rushing yards per game in 2025. The two-headed attack of Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard has buoyed an offense that has failed to generate much production through the air, though third-year quarterback Bryce Young has led four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives this season.
Hunt, 29, was limited to 11 games due to injury during his platform year with the Dolphins in 2023, but he had otherwise been durable since Miami made him a second-round pick in 2020. In his absence, a number of players have been shuffled through the right guard slot.
Third-year pro Chandler Zavala relieved Hunt in Week 2 and started at RG in Weeks 3 and 4. Unfortunately, he sustained a knee injury in the Week 4 contest and landed on IR himself. Brady Christensen was the next man up and started four games before a torn Achilles brought a premature end to his 2025 campaign.
In his return to action in Week 9, Zavala sustained an elbow injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the game. He was replaced by Jake Curhan, and then Austin Corbett lined up at RG for Week 10.
That was the first ime Corbett had taken snaps at right guard since 2023, and it did not go well. He was relegated to the bench in Week 11, and Zavala again took the right guard reins. He managed to make it through that game unscathed, but a calf injury sustained during the Panthers’ Week 12 loss to the 49ers forced Curhan back onto the field. Curhan went on to start in Week 13 and played every offensive snap in an upset victory over the Rams.
Now, fresh off their Week 14 bye, the Panthers are giving Corbett another shot at right guard in Week 15 (via Person). The 30-year-old blocker beat out Cade Mays for the starting center job this summer, but Corbett suffered an MCL injury in Week 2 and joined Hunt on IR after that game. That allowed Mays to take over at the pivot, and the impending free agent has played himself into consideration for a second contract with Carolina.
In light of all of the above-referenced injuries, it is perhaps not surprising that Mays also missed each of the last two games with an ankle injury. He has been cleared for Week 15, and he will start on Sunday, with Corbett lined up to his right.
Panthers To Re-Evaluate OL Robert Hunt, Moving Austin Corbett Back To Guard
After a 1-3 start, the Panthers have won four of their five games despite a series of injuries to their top two quarterbacks and several offensive linemen.
Starting QB Bryce Young missed Week 8 with a high ankle sprain. In that game, backup Andy Dalton broke the thumb on his throwing hand. Young returned for Carolina’s next game.
Their offensive line has dealt with even more injuries. Week 1 starters Robert Hunt and Austin Corbett, along with versatile depth Chandler Zavala and Brady Christensen, have spent time on injured reserve; Hunt and Christensen are still there. The Panthers’ other three Week 1 starters – Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, and Taylor Moton – have all missed at least one game, and backup center Cade Mays was sidelined by knee and ankle injuries in Week 9. Nine different offensive linemen have taken at least 100 snaps this year.
That has caused a number of shuffles along Carolina’s offensive line, including a few switches between left guard and center by Corbett. With Mays back in the lineup, Corbett will now move to right guard, per The Athletic’s Joe Person, which he has not played in the last two seasons. However, he spent the previous four years starting at the position, so it should be a relatively easy change.
Hunt, meanwhile, is “right on track” in his recovery from his biceps tear, according to Panthers head coach Dave Canales (via Person). The team is still holding out hope that he could return for the last four games of the season, but they are planning to re-evaluate the veteran guard’s status this week.
Panthers Place OL Brady Christensen On IR, Sign QB Mike White To Active Roster
NOVEMBER 2: The thumb on Dalton’s throwing hand is actually broken, per Person (subscription required). Dalton broke the thumb during the second series of the Buffalo contest, though he did not immediately tell the coaching staff about the injury.
Young returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, and he has no injury designation for Week 9. He will therefore return to his QB1 post.
OCTOBER 30: Panthers offensive lineman Brady Christensen underwent surgery for a torn Achilles on Wednesday and was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per team reporter Darin Gantt.
Christensen went down in the Panthers’ Week 8 loss to the Bills and will miss the rest of the season. He had started the last four games at right guard after Robert Hunt and Chandler Zavala both landed on injured reserve. Five-year veteran Jake Curhan finished the game at right guard.
Christensen’s injury was one of several to the Panthers’ offensive line on Sunday. Center Cade Mays injured his ankle and right tackle Taylor Moton injured his knee; they were replaced by Austin Corbett and Yosh Nijman, respectively. Head coach Dave Canales said this week (via Gant and his colleague Kassidy Hill) that Mays was not expected to play in Week 9, but Moton might. That would keep Corbett at center and potentially insert Nijman into the starting lineup.
At right guard, the Panthers could stick with Curhan, but Zavala is expected to be activated from IR ahead of Sunday’s game against the Packers, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person. That will likely position him to start, potentially for the rest of the season if Hunt does not come back.
With the open spot on their roster, the Panthers promoted veteran quarterback Mike White from the practice squad. That may not be a good sign for Andy Dalton‘s availability this week. He is dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand and did not practice on Wednesday. Bryce Young is trending towards a return after missing Week 8 with a high ankle sprain; if Dalton can’t go, White would be Young’s backup on Sunday.
The Panthers also filled the open practice squad spot created by White’s promotion by re-signing defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy.
Panthers TE Ja’Tavion Sanders Expected To Miss Multiple Weeks
Panthers tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders suffered a high ankle sprain during Sunday’s victory over the Falcons, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.
The 2024 fourth-round pick will miss multiple weeks as a result with veteran Tommy Tremble likely stepping back into a starting role.
After largely playing behind Tremble as a rookie, Sanders started Carolina’s first three games this season and outsnapped his veteran teammate 129 to 97. He ranks second on the team in receptions (11) and receiving yards (92), both top-20 marks among tight ends through three games, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Tremble caught all six of his targets for 38 yards to open the year and will likely see an uptick in snap count and receiving opportunities. Fifth-round rookie Mitchell Evans stands to benefit even more, as he only played 35 snaps in the first three weeks but will be elevated to a TE2 role during Sanders’ absence.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales also confirmed that right guard Robert Hunt underwent biceps surgery. His earliest return would be at the end of the season, according to ESPN’s David Newton, while center Austin Corbett avoided surgery but will be out for at least six to eight weeks. Both linemen are on injured reserve.
Carolina has since switched to Chandler Zavala at RG and Cade Mays at C while also poaching Nick Samac off the Ravens’ practice squad to back up both spots. The Panthers offense has struggled behind their injured O-line thus far and will be hoping Corbett can recover on the shorter end of his timeline
Panthers To Place G Robert Hunt, C Austin Corbett On IR
September 18: Hunt underwent successful surgery in California this week, per Joe Person of The Athletic, but the team has not provided any updates regarding his return timetable.
A torn biceps could be season-ending, but Bills linebacker Matt Milano suffered a similar injury in training camp last year and was back on the field at the end of November. However, the specific nature of Hunt’s injury and the different physical requirements for his position will be major factors in his recovery timeline.
September 15: As expected, the Panthers will be shorthanded up front for a lengthy period. Guard Robert Hunt and center Austin Corbett are both headed to injured reserve, head coach Dave Canales confirmed on Monday.
Hunt suffered a torn left biceps during yesterday’s game. Surgery will be required as a result, meaning he could very well be lost for the season. The shift to IR ensures a four-game absence at a minimum, but for both Hunt and Corbett a much longer absence is in store.
Corbett suffered an MCL injury during Carolina’s Week 2 contest. Canales noted the extent of the ailment was initially unclear (with a sprain being a possibility), but he later specified (via ESPN’s David Newton) this is a case of a Grade C injury. That represents a complete tear, meaning surgery will also be required for Corbett. Canales has left the door open for a late-season return in both cases, but it would come as a surprise if either were to be available again in 2025.
The Panthers made continuity a priority along the O-line this offseason. Corbett and fellow center Cade Mays were retained, while longtime right tackle Taylor Moton inked a two-year extension shortly before the start of the campaign. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is still in the fold, as is left guard Damien Lewis. With a number of depth options returning as well, Carolina’s top nine contributors up front in terms of snaps from 2024 are in the fold.
Given today’s injury news, that depth and familiarity will be called upon early. Mays is set to take over from Corbett at center after falling short in this year’s training camp competition for the gig. Canales said Chandler Zavala, meanwhile, will receive the first opportunity to take on the right guard position. The 2023 fourth-rounder made seven total starts across his first two seasons with Carolina, and that figure is now set to increase.
Hunt remains under contract through 2028, so the Pro Bowler’s future with the team is not in questions. Corbett, on the other hand, missed considerable time in each of the past two years. Yet another significant injury will hurt the pending free agent’s chances of being retained this spring along with his market value for any outside teams which show interest.
Panthers’ Robert Hunt, Austin Corbett Facing Lengthy Absences?
The Panthers’ late comeback attempt came up short on Sunday, dropping them to 0-2. Attempts at turning the season around will likely include replacements being counted on along the offensive line. 
Both right guard Robert Hunt and center Austin Corbett suffered injuries yesterday. Hunt is dealing with a biceps injury which occurred in the fourth quarter. Corbett, meanwhile, is facing the prospect of missed time due to a knee ailment.
In each case, an MRI is pending. As Joe Person of The Athletic writes (subscription required), though, neither Hunt nor Corbett are optimistic about their respective outlooks. Biceps tears carry lengthy recovery timelines when surgery is required, while Corbett was “distraught” in the locker room after the game when contemplating the fallout of his latest injury (h/t ESPN’s David Newton).
Hunt was one of the Panthers’ two big-ticket guard investments during free agency in 2024 (Damien Lewis being the other). The former Dolphins second-rounder played 16 games during his debut Carolina season, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. Expectations were high for a strong follow-up, but it appears a lengthy absence will instead be in store. Hunt is under contract through 2028.
Corbett, by contrast, is a pending free agent. The eighth-year veteran avoided major injuries during his time with the Browns and Rams early in his career. After logging a full campaign with the Panthers in 2022, however, the 30-year-old has been struck by a series of injury woes. Corbett ended the ’22 season with an ACL tear and was limited to just four games the following campaign (during which he suffered an MCL tear). In 2024, a biceps tear ended his season in Week 5.
This offseason, Corbett was retained on a one-year pact while the Panthers also kept Cade Mays in the fold. The two engaged in a training camp competition for the starting center gig, and Corbett won out. The 69-game starter now appears to be facing another lengthy tenure on the shelf, something which would hinder his market value next spring and presumably move Mays into a first-team role.
Carolina’s offensive line welcomed back left tackle Ikem Ekwonu yesterday. The unit could be notably shorthanded along the interior moving forward, though. It will be interesting to see what further testing reveals for both Hunt and Corbett as the Panthers look to build off the momentum from their second half showing yesterday.