Week 10 sees a matchup between the 1-8 New Orleans Saints and 5-4 Carolina Panthers. The final official injury report of the week for both teams will be available later today. However, the Panthers ruled out one offensive starter early in the day on Friday, with another key playmaker being surprisingly added to their injury report.
Carolina announced that starting right guard Chandler Zavala will miss this Sunday’s game against the Saints with an elbow injury. In some good news for Carolina, leading rusher Rico Dowdle is expected to play. Dowdle, who has 735 rushing yards and an average of 5.6 per carry, has been limited in practice all week with a quad injury. The Panthers now expect him to play to help a rushing attack that ranks 5th in the league.
One name that was a surprise addition to Carolina’s injury report on Friday was wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was listed with a hamstring injury. Panthers coach Dave Canales said that McMillan sustained a hamstring injury early in Friday’s practice and was shut down for the rest of the session. Canales went on to add that the team will re-evaluate McMillan on Saturday to determine his status for Sunday’s game against the Saints. He is officially listed as questionable for the game and may be a game-time decision.
McMillan was taken by the Panthers with the eighth choice in the first round of last spring’s draft. He was the second wide receiver picked, one selection before the Saints drafted offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. A two-time All-Big 12 selection and 2024 firs-team All-American for the Arizona Wildcats, McMillan leads the Panthers in receiving. He’s caught 41 of his 69 targets for 558 yards and two touchdowns, with 34 of his receptions resulting in first downs.
Additionally, the Panthers also announced that backup wideout Brycen Tremayne (hip) is also listed as questionable for Sunday. This could open the door for additional playing time for veteran Hunter Renfow. When asked, Canales acknowledged that it was a possibility but that the Panthers would re-evaluate both injured receivers through Saturday and before the game on Sunday.