Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Panthers WR Adam Thielen (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend's opener vs. the Falcons. He got in limited practices on Wednesday and Friday. It's unclear if this is load management for the 33-year-old or if the ankle is a legitimate problem. We'll look for an update on Thielen's situation on Sunday morning. WR Terrace Marshall (back) is not listed on the final injury report after putting in a full practice on Friday.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen (ankle) did not practice on Thursday. That follows Wednesday's limited practice. This could have been a planned day off for Thielen. But, more likely, he hurt that ankle on Wednesday and is now in danger of missing this weekend's opener vs. the Falcons. WR D.J. Chark (hamstring) remained sidelined on Thursday. Rookie WR Jonathan Mingo could be in for a busy debut.

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall (back) returned to practice on Tuesday. He wound up missing about two weeks. Marshall projects as the No. 4 in a healthy Carolina WR corps, but WR D.J. Chark is still sidelined with his hamstring injury.

Panthers RBs Miles Sanders (groin) and Chuba Hubbard (ankle) were on the practice field on Monday, according to The Charlotte Observer's Mike Kaye. Sanders had been out since August 9, while Hubbard hurt his ankle in Friday night's preseason game. Both guys are on track to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard injured an ankle in Friday night's preseason game, HC Frank Reich said afterward. Hubbard started that game with RB Miles Sanders out with his groin injury. We'll see when these guys are able to get back on the field. Carolina's healthy RBs are now Raheem Blackshear, Spencer Brown, and rookie Camerun Peoples.

The Ravens are signing Edge Jadeveon Clowney to a one-year deal. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says he'll "complement" Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, so expect a rotation here. Clowney has yet to reach 10 sacks in a season since arriving as the No. 1 overall pick back in 2014. Expect him to help the Baltimore defense more than your IDP lineup. But it's a good landing spot for Clowney to turn more hidden pressures into sacks. Justin Houston enjoyed a rebound in his age-33 campaign last year in the spot that now goes to Clowney. We have Baltimore high in our 2023 DST rankings, especially because of some friendly early matchups.

Panthers WR Terrance Marshall is expected to miss "a few weeks" with his back injury, according to Fox Sports Radio's Sheena Quick. We're about three-and-a-half weeks away from the start of the regular season, so Marshall seemingly has a shot to be ready for Week 1. But it looks like he'll open the season as Carolina's No 4 WR, behind Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark , and Jonathan Mingo.

Panthers HC Frank Riech said Wednesday that RB Miles Sanders is "getting close" to returning from his groin injury. Reich added that Sanders probably won't play in either of the remaining two preseason games. But it sounds like he'll be ready to roll come Week 1. We haven't moved Sanders down the 2023 fantasy football rankings.

Panthers HC Frank Reich said Monday that WR Terrace Marshall hurt his back in practice and is getting checked out, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. We'll see whether it's anything serious, but Marshall has already been trending toward landing no higher than fourth on the WR depth chart.

Panthers RB Miles Sanders is sitting out Saturday’s preseason opener. Per NFL Network’s Cam Wolfe, Sanders has a “very mild” groin injury. Wolfe added that the first-year Panther would have played had it been the regular season. Sanders remains inside RB2 range in our fantasy RB rankings.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard “continued to be plagued by drops” at training camp, per The Athletic’s Joe Person. We’ll see how the preseason usage shakes out. But Person believes the Panthers could use a bigger back to “complement” Miles Sanders, who’s currently dealing with a minor groin injury. We’ll keep an eye on Carolina as a destination for a free-agent RB.

The Athletic's Joe Person named WR Jonathan Mingo a training camp “riser.” According to Person, the rookie showed he’s “going to be a big part of the rotation with a solid camp.” Mingo should also benefit from the strong showing by QB Bryce Young. See where Mingo stacks up in our fantasy WR rankings.

Panthers HC Frank Reich said RB Miles Sanders "tweaked" his groin in Wednesday's practice and will be held out of the preseason opener. This doesn't sound like a significant injury, but we'll see when Sanders is able to get back on the field.

"Signs are pointing to a running back by committee in Philadelphia," ESPN's Tim McManus writes. Five Eagles RBs -- D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Trey Sermon -- have received first-team reps in camp. McManus expects Swift, Penny, and Gainwell to all be in the mix for regular-season touches, "with matchups and in-game performance likely to sway how much each player is utilized in a given week." That sounds like a fantasy nightmare. On the plus side, we know this will be a productive offense and running game. And an injury to any one of those top three would make the other two much better fantasy plays. This is still a backfield to invest in at the right price. Penny remains our favorite value on the bunch, with an ADP in late Round 9.

The Panthers' initial -- and "unofficial" -- depth chart lists rookie WR Jonathan Mingo as a starter, alongside WRs Adam Thielen and D.J. Chark. This might mean nothing, of course, given that teams differ in how seriously they treat released depth charts. But rookies more often appear lower vs. reality on these initial charts -- not higher than their actual standing. So we'll take this is a good sign for the second-round pick. That doesn't make Mingo an exciting fantasy football draft pick in a situation with limited ceiling potential. But he's fine as a best ball selection. No Panthers WR sits inside the top 50 in either our fantasy football rankings or ADP.

The Panthers have agreed to a one-year deal with Edge Justin Houston. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Houston will get $6 million guaranteed, with a top value of $7 million. Houston rebounded for 9.5 sacks at age 33 with the Ravens last season, tying his second-largest sack total of the past eight years despite a career-low 44.1% snap share. That bodes well for the pressure rate Carolina can expect to get from the veteran. But you should expect Houston to remain in a similar situational role. That obviously limits his statistical upside. Beyond the sacks, Houston tallied a career-low 21 total tackles. That matched the total from his 2016 campaign in Kansas City, which saw Houston play in just five games. Houston tallied 6 more solo tackles (20) that year than he did in 2022. We've added Houston to the IDP rankings, but he's not an exciting option.

Panthers HC Frank Reich told reporters Saturday that he held RB Miles Sanders out of team drills after Sanders "tweaked something" early in practice, according to multiple reports. Darin Gantt of the team websites added that it was "mostly a precaution." We'll watch for any signal that this is something more significant.

Eagles RB Rashaad Penny said he’s currently tipping the scales at 231 pounds, seven pounds under his playing weight in Seattle. Per beat writer Chris Franklin, Penny wants to get close to his college playing weight of 220. “This is a fresh start for me,” Penny said. “Playing with an offense like this, I get to unleash something that a lot of people probably have never seen me do. I have the chance for more big plays and more catches, being a part of this offense and taking pride in what they do here.” Penny’s big-play talent makes him a worthwhile mid-round target.

Panthers LT Ikem Ekwonu has “quickly become a force,” per The Athletic’s Joseph Person. A 2022 Round 1 pick, Ekwonu struggled early in his rookie season —particularly in his debut against Browns DL Myles Garrett. But he made strides from there, and it sounds like he’s further improved this offseason. Overall, Bryce Young’s O-line looks like an above average unit. For more, read about the relationship between O-line play and fantasy production.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson left practice with an unspecified lower-body injury on Friday. Dale Lolley of the team website reports that Johnson "went out and tried to go again in team [drills], but shut it down after coming off the field gingerly." That Johnson returned to the field at all after the initial issue in a July practice suggests this isn't serious. But we'll watch for updates.

Update: Johnson's absence was heat-related. Carry on.