Carolina Panthers final injury report ahead of TNF matchup with Bears

The Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears will be forever linked due to their trade ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Now, they’ll face off on Thursday Night Football.

Both squads have a long way to go to being competitive. However, it’s easy to see why both Carolina and Chicago believe they’ll have a solid shot at victory on Thursday against one another.

Unfortunately, the Panthers will be without two of their best players, as linebacker Brian Burns and wide receiver DJ Chark are listed as out for tomorrow’s clash. Check out the full injury report below, as shared by the team.

Carolina Panthers — Final injury report ahead of TNF matchup with Chicago Bears:

DNP — LB Brian Burns, WR DJ Chark, CB CJ Henderson, WR Laviska Shenault, TE Stephen Sullivan

Limited — FS Xavier Woods

Full — S Vonn Bell, RB Raheem Blackshear, OT Ikem Ekwonu, LB Marquis Haynes, LB Frankie Lulu, TE Tommy Tremble

Panthers place linebacker/special teamer Luiji Vilain on injured reserve

Meanwhile, the Panthers added another linebacker to injured reserve. This time it was Luiji Vilain,who’d been on the practice squad since late last month.

Vilain, who is primarily a special teamer. injured his knee last Sunday in a loss to the Colts. He’ll be out at least four games with an IR distinction. The Panthers made the move late Tuesday, hours after they placed linebacker Chandler Wooten on injured reserve after he sprained his ankle in a loss to Indy.

The Panthers already had signed Blake Martinez, a linebacker who left the NFL a year ago to sell Pokeman collectibles, to the practice squad to help with depth at linebacker.

Getting back to Vilain, he spent the majority of his NFL career with the Vikings. He got to the NFL by way of Wake Forest with a side trip to Michigan. And, the Canadian was drafted in the CFL, but not the NFL. The Panthers signed him off the Vikings practice squad, Oct. 24. Last Sunday, before he was injured, Vilian saw action on four special teams snaps.

The Panthers also made a major injury announcement, Tuesday. Coach Frank Reich said that star rusher Brian Burns is in concussion protocol and won’t play Thursday night against the Bears. It’s a short week for Carolina, so it’s an inopportune time for injuries.

On3’s Suzanne Haliburton contributed to this article.