As if things couldn’t get worse for the Carolina Panthers’ effort to protect Bryce Young, two starting offensive lineman are now off to the IR.

Panthers’ coach, Dave Canales spoke to the media to recap Week 2’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and while there was an encouraging fourth quarter comeback, there were casualties in the process.

Right guard Robert Hunt, who is one of the highest paid guards in the NFL, was reported to have torn his bicep, while center Austin Corbett is out with a torn MCL.

Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) on X The #Panthers took multiple injury hits to their O-line, as guard Robert Hunt has torn his biceps, while Austin Corbett is out with a torn MCL, coach Dave Canales said.

Both critical pieces to an already-fragile offensive line, will now be placed on injured reserve and will have to miss the next four games.

The silver lining in this news is that Canales didn’t rule out a return for both of them this season. 

Depending on the severity of the tear though, it may be tough for someone like Hunt to return this season.

According to MyCleveland Clinic, a full recovery for a torn bicep that requires surgery typically takes four-to-six months. For now, it’s unknown if Hunt’s injury requires surgery.

Corbett’s return to the field does seem more likely.

A torn MCL isn’t as drastic as if he tore his ACL, and it usually doesn’t require surgery. The most severe tears typically rule a player out for four-to-eight weeks, and with the severity of Corbett’s injury being unknown, it will be too early to tell.

The two injuries are devastating blows to not just the Panthers as a whole, but to quarterback Young.

In Week 2’s loss to the Cardinals, Young was pressured a total of 25 times with three of them being unblocked, was sacked three times, and was hit eight times.

A lot of it was due to pressures that the offensive line hadn’t originally seen on tape and as the game continued in the second half, Carolina looked completely different than what we saw in the first.

"We've got to eliminate the mistakes," Canales immediately addressed as he approached the post game podium. "You know, two weeks in a row, early self-inflicted wounds and 10 points just like that. Going to the half (down) 20-3, and we've got to change our mode, and we're not able to play the complementary football that we're looking for, to be able to mix the runs, the play actions, turned it into a drop-back game.”

In the place of Hunt and Corbett, expect Chandler Zavala and Cade Mays to step in relief.

The Panthers host NFC South rivals, the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.