Between family and travel, we get that holiday weeks can be a little crazy. Maybe you missed the news this week. We don’t blame you. That’s why we have this handy weekly feature to catch you up on the latest and greatest to come out of Cat Scratch Reader in advance of every game.
This week is the season finale. There will be no more 2018 Carolina Panthers after Sunday, and praise be for that. We all watched what happened after their promising, if rocky, start. Now we get to look at the future and that is full of potential. Here are the last tidbits of (mostly injury news) 2018 to get you ready for the end of this season and the start of 2019.
QB Taylor Heinicke on injured reserve, sign QB Garrett Gilbert
Heinicke injured his left (non-throwing) elbow in last Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but he came back into the game after being checked out by the training staff. He finished the game completing 33/53 for 274 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
- Bradley Smith
5 questions with Canal Street Chronicles
CSR: Who is the first quarterback off the bench for Drew Brees? It clearly should be Teddy Bridgewater, but Payton seems to have an unnatural affection for Taysom Hill.
CSC: Taysom Hill is practically an offensive starter at this point. He’s not just a quarterback in Sean Payton’s offense - he’s much more than that. When Brees isn’t behind the helm, expect Teddy Bridgewater to play in his place. Taysom will take his usual snaps across the formation, and it shouldn’t have any impact on Teddy.
- Walker Clement and Chris Dunnells
Trai Turner and Kawann Short are out for season finale
Turner and Short missed practice all week so it’s really no surprise that they won’t suit up on Sunday. We already knew that Newton would miss the game as well, so there’s not much to report that’s breaking news on that front. Kyle Allen will start in his place. Tyler Larsen will replace Turner on the offensive line, and if Newhouse is unable to play on Sunday then Chris Clark will be his replacement.
- Bradley Smith
As always, you can check out our Week 17 story stream for the rest of this week’s coverage. That’s about it for this year, folks. One more game and then we get to start into what could be a busy and exciting 2019 for Carolina Panthers news.