Shaq Thompson injury update: Panthers LB suffered torn Achilles

The Carolina Panthers got bad injury news for linebacker Shaq Thompson. Per Ian Rapoport, it’s believed that he tore his Achilles

The injury occurred during Carolina’s loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Thompson will have an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury.

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For Shaq Thompson, the injury timing is very frustrating in particular. He has been playing some of his best football to start the season and this is the final year of his current contract. At 30 years old, he’ll be a free agent in the off-season and this injury could have an impact on his ability to find the right new deal.

This season, Thompson has been a leader on Carolina’s defense from his linebacker position, making 35 total tackles in his four games. He also has two tackles for a loss and a quarterback hit. Those 35 tackles made Thompson the team’s leader in tackles to this point in the season. Another linebacker, Josey Jewell, is second with 30 total tackles to this point.

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This injury comes a season after Shaq Thompson was only able to play in two games last season. He broke his fibula and was placed on injured reserve in September of 2023. So, unfortunately, injuries have become a concern for Thompson in his career after playing in at least 14 games per season in the first eight seasons of his career.

Shaq Thompson played his college football for the Washington Huskies, where he was an All-American and won the Paul Hornung Award as a way of recognizing him as a high-level and versatile player. He’d go on to be a first round pick of the Panthers in 2015 and he’s spent his entire career with Carolina since then.

This comes amid a difficult season for the Carolina Panthers, who are now just 1-3 and fourth in a competitive NFC South. On top of that, the team has already benched last year’s first round pick at quarterback in Bryce Young. So, after going 2-15 last season and not having a winning record since 2017, things have been going poorly for Carolina.

As a team, Carolina has struggled on defense, giving up 32.3 points per game to go along with 209.3 passing yards and 148.8 rushing yards per game.

Now, the Panthers will need to find a way to replace both the production Shaq Thompson brought as well as the leadership he brought to the defense. It won’t be easy to do but they’ll need an answer before taking on the Chicago Bears next Sunday.