Carolina Panthers place Jaycee Horn on injured reserve

Jaycee Horn has been recovering from a wrist injury, and he underwent surgery last week to repair it. He seemingly had a shot to return to the field in Week 18 or for the postseason if the Panthers made it there, but that will not be the case.

On Monday, the Panthers placed Horn on injured reserve, ending his season.

The Panthers had a chance to win the NFC South, but those hopes were shot down on Sunday with a 30-24 loss in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers. Instead, the Buccaneers clinched the division crown and eliminated the Panthers in the process.

Horn enjoyed great success during his second season with the Panthers, totaling 53 total tackles with two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, seven passes defended and three interceptions.

Horn was selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. As a rookie, he was limited to just three games where he totaled five tackles, one pass defended and one interception.

Despite ending the season on injured reserve, Horn has a lot to like about what he was able to do in the Panthers secondary this season. The unit was a question mark entering the season, but Horn’s emergence into one of the NFL’s top young cornerbacks was a massive boost to the entire Panthers defense.

It is going to be an important offseason for the Panthers, with a head coaching search looming. Steve Wilks did a fine job as the team’s interim, but a permanent solution must be found.

The Panthers enter Week 18’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints with a 6-10 record, sitting in third place in the NFC South. Carolina is one of three teams with six wins as of right now, and the Panthers are likely looking at yet another pick inside the top ten in this summer’s NFL Draft.