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Yetur Gross-Matos

Panthers Place S Jeremy Chinn, OLB Yetur Gross-Matos On IR, Activate G Austin Corbett

October 24th, 2023 at 4:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

Coming out of their bye week, the Panthers have made a number of injury-related moves. The team announced on Tuesday that safety Jeremy Chinn and pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos have been placed on injured reserve. The same is true of tight end/special teamer Giovanni Ricci.

As a result of the move, all three players will be forced to miss at least four weeks. In Chinn’s case, a quadriceps injury is expected to keep him sidelined for longer than that, so today’s move comes as no surprise. The 25-year-old is in the final year of his contract, but the injury likely took him off the board with respect to trade interest from outside teams.

Gross-Matos is dealing with a hamstring injury which has been deemed serious enough to interrupt an encouraging season. The former second-rounder has posted 2.5 sacks through six games, only one short of matching his career high. He has added three tackles for loss and six quarterback pressures despite seeing a drop in playing time compared to last year. Starters Brian Burns and Justin Houston will be counted on more heavily in the edge department given Gross-Matos’ absence. Ricci has a shoulder injury, per ESPN’s David Newton.

In more positive news, the Panthers activated guard Austin Corbett from the PUP list. This marked the final week of his 21-day return window, so today’s move was needed to avoid having him revert to season-ending IR. The 28-year-old suffered an ACL tear in Week 18 last year, and has been rehabbing ever since. His return will be welcomed on an offensive line which has used three different starters at both left and right guard this season. Corbett indicated (via Newton) that he may not suit up for Week 8 despite being brought back onto the roster. That move will did use up any of Carolina’s seven remaining IR activations, but bringing back Chinn, Gross-Matos and Ricci will.

To fill the other roster spots opened up by the IR moves, the Panthers have signed edge rusher Luiji Vilain off the Vikings’ practice squad. The 25-year-old Canadian has made four regular season appearances since signing in Minnesota as a UDFA. Likewise, Carolina has added offensive lineman Brett Toth from the Eagles’ taxi squad. The latter has made one start across his 17 total games played, all with Philadelphia.

Panthers’ Yetur Gross-Matos May Remain Starter

June 4th, 2023 at 10:32am CST by Rory Parks

Panthers edge defender Yetur Gross-Matos is coming off a disappointing 2022 season, but he has a good chance to continue operating as a starter, per Joseph Person of The Athletic (subscription required). In new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero‘s 3-4 scheme, that would mean lining up across from two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns at outside linebacker.

In Person’s estimation, Gross-Matos is ill-suited to serve as a stand-up rusher at OLB. On the other hand, it’s not as though the Penn State product has excelled as a defensive end in a 4-3 look, so perhaps a position change will allow him to unlock some of the potential that made him the No. 38 pick of the 2020 draft.

Despite playing in 17 games (all starts) last season, and despite a significant 73% snap share that represented a sizeable playing time increase over his first two years in the league, Gross-Matos tallied just 2.5 sacks. That is the same number he posted in his rookie campaign, when he appeared in just 48% of Carolina’s defensive snaps, and one fewer than he recorded in 2021, when he had a 38% snap share.

The underlying metrics do not suggest that Gross-Matos in on the verge of a breakout. He is averaging under seven quarterback hits per year, and Pro Football Focus assigned him a subpar 49.5 pass rush grade in 2022. PFF has been similarly bearish on his run defense efforts, so he is not necessarily compensating for his pass rushing deficiencies in other areas.

However, as Person notes, the Panthers — who are eyeing a lucrative extension for Burns — are presently disinclined to spend for a free agent defender like Yannick Ngakoue or Leonard Floyd. As long as that remains the case, Gross-Matos will have ample opportunity to impress Evero and secure a meaningful role on Carolina’s defense in his platform year.

For what it’s worth, Evero says he is pleased with the progress Gross-Matos has made in spring practices.

“Just like most of our guys, from the first day we were on the field to now, you’ve really seen a lot of growth [from Gross-Matos],” Evero said. “He’ll continue to work through it, but we’re really happy with the progress he’s making.”

Person cautions that GM Scott Fitterer will continue to monitor the edge rusher market, and any price drops on current free agents or roster cuts from other clubs could compel him to make a move that would bump Gross-Matos — along with situational rusher Marquis Haynes and third-round rookie D.J. Johnson — down the depth chart.

Panthers Reworking Staff

January 12th, 2022 at 9:59am CST by Ely Allen

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has had some difficulties making the same immediate impact in Carolina that gained him notoriety in Waco. In two years at the helm, Rhule hasn’t succeeded in improving his team’s win total from the season before he was hired. In an attempt to make some needed improvements, the Panthers announced that they were letting go of offensive line coach Pat Meyer, defensive line coach Frank Okam, and special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn.

The team struggled on both sides of the line this year and it looks like any attempts to improve will be made by new position coaches, while the special teams unit saw four different kickers and three punters throughout the year, including the preseason.

Meyer has been with Rhule since the move to Carolina. He’s been coaching in the NFL for 8 years with stops at the Chargers, Bills, and Bears. Meyer entered the NFL with Marc Trestman, moving with the coach from the CFL to Chicago.

Okam joined Rhule at Baylor and followed the notably loyal coach to the Panthers. Rhule had brought much of his staff from Temple with him to Baylor, so it was safe to assume some of the Baylor staff would end up in Carolina, as well. Despite coaching up young draft picks like Derrick Brown, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Bravvion Roy and seeing career numbers from Brian Burns, Efe Obada, and Marquis Haynes, it seems Rhule is wanting a bit more from this position group.

Chase Blackburn was a longtime linebacker for the Giants before spending his final two years playing in Carolina. After about a year of retirement from playing, Blackburn became a special teams intern in Ron Rivera‘s staff. When Rhule came in to replace Rivera, Blackburn was one of two holdovers from the staff along with Jake Peetz, who is now the offensive coordinator at LSU.

It’s yet to be seen who will replace them, but Rhule continues to show hints of what made him successful at the college level by attempting to make the necessary changes to succeed. With young talent on both sides of the ball, Rhule may yet turn this team around.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

January 5th, 2022 at 11:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/20

November 30th, 2020 at 5:32pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ll post all the minor moves from what has been a very busy Monday here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/20

November 7th, 2020 at 5:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/20

October 16th, 2020 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Placed on IR: TE Hunter Bryant

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Matt Pryor; Pryor did not test positive for the coronavirus, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets

Panthers Wrap Draft Class

July 21st, 2020 at 12:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have signed their entire 2020 NFL Draft class, per a club announcement. First-round pick Derrick Brown got the party started in the spring, but the rest waited until this week to put pen to paper. The full rundown:

1-7: Derrick Brown, DT (Auburn): Signed
2-38: Yetur Gross-Matos, DE (Penn State): Signed
2-64: Jeremy Chinn, DB (Southern Illinois): Signed
4-113: Troy Pride Jr., CB (Notre Dame): Signed
5-152: Kenny Robinson, S (West Virginia): Signed
6-184: Bravvion Roy, DT (Baylor): Signed
7-221: Stantley Thomas-Oliver III, CB (Florida International): Signed

Gross-Matos stood out with 17.5 sacks and 37 hurries over the last two seasons, plus solid work against the run. On the flipside, some evaluators had concerns about his bulk. He’ll have to put some more muscle on his 6’5″, 265-pound frame in order to be a reliable three-down defensive lineman.

On the other side of the ball, the Panthers say they’ll be hanging on to wide receiver Curtis Samuel, despite an offseason full of trade rumors.

NFL Draft Rumors: Falcons, Steelers, Cowboys

April 20th, 2020 at 2:32pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons could be the most aggressive team in the NFL Draft, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter). Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that GM Thomas Dimitroff went big on draft day – he gambled, and hit the jackpot, with his move up for Julio Jones in 2011. This time around, he could be looking to land one of the draft’s premier cornerbacks. As Mort notes, the Falcons will have to play against the likes of Tom Brady and Teddy Bridgewater this year. An elite defender like Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah or Florida’s C.J. Henderson could give them the artillery they need to keep up in the NFC South.

More draft rumblings from around the league:

  • The Steelers don’t have a first-round pick, but head coach Mike Tomlin says he isn’t “fretting at all” (Twitter link via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com). The Steelers turned that selection into Minkah Fitzpatrick back in September and the former Fins cornerback rewarded them with a first-team All-Pro season. Pittsburgh will have to make the most of their remaining picks, especially since they rank near the bottom of the league in available cap room.
  • Despite the Steelers featuring Joe Haden, Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton, they have drafted a cornerback in ten of the past eleven drafts. They also used a third-round pick on Justin Layne last year. Pittsburgh is slated to hold the No. 49 overall pick. After that, a compensatory selection landed in Round 3 (at No. 104). Should the Steelers feel compelled to further bolster this position, however, that move would more likely come on Day 3, per The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly (subscription required).
  • The Cowboys have done “a ton of work” on Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com hears. After racking up 17.5 sacks and 37 hurries over the last two seasons while providing solid work against the run, Gross-Matos is in demand.