Panthers sign veteran guard Gabe Jackson to practice squad

The Carolina Panthers (1-10) signed veteran guard Gabe Jackson to their practice squad Wednesday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Jackson, 32, has nine NFL seasons under his belt, seven with the Las Vegas Raiders (2014-20) and two with the Seattle Seahawks (2021-22). He has made 130-career starts and been a serviceable player for majority of his career.

The signing of Jackson comes at a time where the Panthers are struggling to field healthy offensive linemen. Rookie guard Chandler Zavala is the latest to go down, suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 17-10 Week 12 defeat to the Tennessee Titans (4-7) this past Sunday. The Panthers placed Zavala on injured reserve Wednesday. He joins a lengthy list which includes fellow offensive linemen Brady Christensen and Austin Corbett.

The Panthers remain in a state of flux, with Frank Reich being relieved of his duties as head coach Monday. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will become the team’s play caller, with senior assistant Jim Caldwell serving as his special adviser. Tabor wasted no time making changes to the staff, letting go of quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley.

Carolina made the decision to fire Reich following the latest loss to the Titans. Reich, tasked with fixing Carolina’s offense and developing quarterback Bryce Young, whom the organization parted ways with four draft picks and star wideout D.J. Moore to take with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, failed to get his side of the ball going.

Panthers hoping for brighter days after firing of Frank Reich

The Panthers rank 30th in yards per game (265.9) and 29th in points per game (15.7). In the two games after Reich took back the play-calling duties from Brown, the offense scored just 20 points combined. Young has struggled, throwing for 1,877 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions on 61.7% passing. His 32.0 QBR is second to last among starting quarterbacks. Young has been under duress all season as Carolina has surrendered 43 sacks, fourth most in the NFL.

“We all share in that,” Young said Wednesday. “We all talk, we all feel like… again, you never wanna see people lose their job… Wanted to, of course, come in — especially this being a new team — wanted to come in and conquer things together and accomplish our goals together. We all take responsibility in that not being the case.”