Injury update on Panthers first-round cornerback

Carolina Panthers first-round cornerback pick Jaycee Horn broke his foot Thursday night. The rookie fell with a non-contact injury, was carted off the field and X-rays in the stadium confirmed the breakage.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted the news first as the Panthers led the Houston Texans 17-9 with the clock winding down in the fourth quarter.

Horn’s timeline for return is unknown at this point. Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule said in his postgame press conference that Horn “broke some bones in his foot.”

The cornerback went down with a non-contact leg injury in the third quarter while defending a route. Horn was beginning a back-pedal when he fell down.

Jaycee Horn injury from the broadcast. Non-contact. Not good. #KeepPounding #Panthers pic.twitter.com/CxIU3PClKI

— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiTV) September 24, 2021

The Carolina Panthers were expecting big things out of cornerback Jaycee Horn when they drafted him with the eighth overall selection in April’s NFL draft out of South Carolina. They’ve already started to get some return on that investment.

Horn snagged the first interception of his NFL career on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

According to Pro Football Focus, in 71 coverage snaps this season, Horn’s allowed just two receptions.

Horn was rated as one of the top cornerback prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Early in fall camp, Horn had to adjust to the very strict rules in pass coverage in the NFL that make it difficult for defensive backs to be physical with the wide receivers.

“Jaycee is grabbing and holding too much,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule told the Charlotte Observer. “A lot of those calls are going to get called back. I love Jaycee’s tenacity, but he’s got to master his craft along the way and he knows that.”

Horn agreed with his head coach.

“I definitely need to work on it. I definitely need to keep my hands out of there, but also still bring the physical mindset and physical attitude to the game,” he said.

Two big blows for Panthers

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is out for the rest of the Texans-Panthers contest with a hamstring injury, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

Before he exited with the injury, McCaffrey had seven rushing attempts in the game for 31 rushing yards. The former Stanford product also hauled in two catches for nine yards.

So far this season, McCaffrey has already hauled in over 100 rushing yards and over 100 receiving yards for the Panthers. He’s long been one of the best all-purpose backs in the National Football League, so he’s going to be missed and in the biggest of ways.

So far in his highly decorated NFL career with the Panthers, McCaffreyhas rushed for over 3,300 rushing yards and hauled in over 2,800 receiving yards.

On3’s Wade Peery also contributed to this report.