Carolina Panthers Provide Update to Key Player on Injured Reserve

The Carolina Panthers enter their Week 10 showdown with the New Orleans Saints at 3-5 overall. With the NFC South wide open and all four teams having three wins, this race is tight. 

The winner of Sunday's game will have at least a share of first place in the division and while the loser isn't eliminated, it's going to set them behind at least one team. For the Carolina Panthers, they were 3-2 and in control of the division before losing three-straight games.

They were hit by injuries over the span of the last month on both sides of the ball. And they happened to key players as well. One of those players is defensive back Jaycee Horn.

As Carolina received good news on Wednesday that Jonathon Brooks, Mike Jackson and Xavier Lagette all returned to practice and had their 21-day windows activated. The Panthers will have to make a decision on each player within the three weeks. But there was also some news regarding Horn. 

Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked about Horn's injury and revealed that the defensive back is taking it "one week at a time" in terms of his recovery. He suffered a torn quad injury and was placed on Injured Reserve after Week 3. There was even a fear he could miss the rest of the season.

But this latest update is still positive. 

Canales said that he and Dan Morgan will walk through a timeline in terms of a potential Horn return. There's stuff that Horn needs to do to take those next steps in a return to the field. He did also add that Horn is attacking his recovery aggressively, signaling that he's pushing hard for a return this season and help out this team.

With Horn and Jackson both out for weeks, Carolina's pass defense struggled. Against Green Bay they were down not only Horn and Jackson but other defensive backs as well, which wasn't a great thing against the Packers' pass offense. 

That secondary will be tested once again in Week 10 as Tyler Shough and the Saints could look to throw it on the Panthers in the dome. 

As Carolina looks to continue to get healthier, they are trying to make a push to return to the playoffs and win the NFC South. But they are going to need to get that extra boost as well. 

The Panthers and Saints kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday in New Orleans.