The Panthers have ruled DE Charles Johnson out for Sunday's game against the Chargers with a hamstring injury. MLB Luke Kuechly, CB Daryl Worley and S Kurt Coleman are all officially questionable, though each is expected to play barring a setback in their recoveries from concussions. DE Mario Addison (foot) is also questionable. He put in a full practice Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. We'll check on his status Sunday and keep tabs on the concussion crew through the weekend.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson (quad) and LB Thomas Davis (hamstring) are active for tonight's game against the Bucs after entering today questionable. They're OK to use in IDP leagues if you've waited to this point.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson (quad) is active for today's game against the Falcons. He remains a marginal IDP option at best, though.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson is questionable for Sunday with a quad injury. He sat out Friday's practice after being limited Thursday. At this point, Johnson's not a big enough IDP producer when healthy to be worth starting through an iffy injury situation.

DE Charles Johnson agreed to a 1-year, $3 million deal with the Panthers on Tuesday, according to ESPN. That's certainly less than Johnson could have gotten elsewhere, but he told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he "wouldn't have been happy if I went somewhere else." Barring a big free-agent signing or high draft pick at the position, Johnson should remain Carolina's starting left DE in 2016.

The Panthers on Thursday released veteran DE Charles Johnson to clear $11 million in cap space. According to ESPN.com, a league source said the team might seek to re-sign him in free agency. Johnson has long been a pass-rushing force for Carolina, but he tallied just 1 sack while losing 7 games to injury last season. He'll turn 30 in July and has seen the dings pile up in recent years. Perhaps more importantly, Johnson was set to count $15 million against the 2016 cap. We'll see where he lands before projecting his IDP outlook. Johnson has performed much better in sack-heavy scoring vs. those formats that favor tackles. The Panthers are optimistic for DE Kony Ealy going forward but must address the position further this offseason.

The Panthers expect to activate DE Charles Johnson from short-term IR Tuesday and have him available for Thursday's game at Dallas. The team's top pass rusher has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. "I’m coming in humble," Johnson said, according to the team website. "We have a lot of talent on our D-line and I’m just trying to be another piece of that. I’m not coming in with the attitude to try and go crazy. I’m going to work my way back into it, work my way back to where I want to be. Whatever my role is I am going to max it out." We can't expect a full workload right away, which obviously limits the upside for Johnson as a Week 12 IDP option. We'll keep an eye on his snap counts, though, and see if he can return to full-time use down the stretch. Carolina's position strongly atop the NFC in the playoff race might make it easier for the team to ease him back and have him fresh for the postseason -- which would be bad news for his IDP value. His return in any capacity can only help the Panthers' team D, though.

The Panthers on Tuesday placed DE Charles Johnson on IR with the designation to return because of the hamstring strain he suffered against the Saints on Sunday. That means Johnson won't be eligible to return before Thanksgiving Day at Dallas. We suspected a fairly serious injury here after Carolina traded for Jared Allen on Monday. Johnson's absence -- along with the Week 3 demotion of 2nd-year DE Kony Ealy -- creates immediate, obvious opportunity for Allen. He'll carry a lot more IDP value if your league-hosting site adds a DL designation or just changes his position. Losing Johnson certainly hurts the team D, though we'll see just how much. The Panthers looked more like a matchup start for fantasy football anyway.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson is active against the Saints for Week 3, despite a hamstring issue that had him questionable. Go ahead and use him as you normally would. Saints RT Zach Strief had lots of trouble with Bucs DE Jacquies Smith last week, allowing 3 sacks. The Panthers make for a strong team-D play in fantasy as well.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson is officially questionable for Sunday against the Saints because of a hamstring pull that limited his practice time all week. But HC Ron Rivera told the Raleigh News & Observer on Friday that Johnson will play unless he has a setback with the hamstring. That makes Johnson OK to use in your IDP lineup -- albeit with some risk of re-injury to that hammy. Keep the risk in mind as you weigh Johnson against your other options.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson will play today at Minnesota despite missing practice late in the week while dealing with an illness. He had been listed as questionable but carries plenty of upside against the Vikings and will be well worth starting for most IDP owners.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson missed practice Thursday and Friday with an illness that has him questionable for Sunday's game at Minnesota. Johnson did travel with the team, however. We'll see Sunday morning if he's well enough to play. If he's active, Johnson will carry plenty of upside and remain a quality option for your IDP lineup.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson will play at Cincinnati today.  He had been listed as questionable because of a lingering hip issue, but Johnson has been playing through it.  The Bengals matchup doesn't bode well for the fantasy outlook on this boom/bust, sack-reliant IDP.

Panthers DE Charles Johnson came away from Sunday's loss to the Ravens with a hip-flexor injury.  It's not yet clear how serious the issue is or whether it will cost him any game time.  We'll keep an eye on his status this week.  The Panthers D has struggled lately anyway and would only plunge further without its left DE on the field.

The Panthers have added DE Charles Johnson to the injury report as questionable for Sunday's meeting with the Jets.  He's battling the flu.  Considering the guy just returned last week from an MCL sprain -- and returned to the game in which he sustained that injury -- we'd have to guess that he'll play.  But the knee drops Johnson way down the list of IDP options for Week 15.

The Panthers have deemed DE Charles Johnson probable for Sunday night's matchup with the Saints.  He sat out the past 2 games after suffering an MCL sprain in the win over New England but has practiced all week, including a full workout Friday.  We've bumped Johnson up the Week 14 rankings a bit on the general optimism in Charlotte, but we're still wary of using him in IDP lineups until he proves ready to produce and withstand a near-full workload.