The Panthers fired HC Matt Rhule. His former team is sitting at 1-4 after going 10-23 over his first 2 seasons. Carolina's ranks in total yards: 21st, 30th and 32nd. Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach Steve Wilks will take over as interim HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He was HC for the Cardinals' 3-13 2018 season. It sounds like OC Ben McAdoo will be sticking around. We're not expecting the change to help Carolina's floundering offense (although it can't hurt).

Niners EDGE Nick Bosa left at halftime of Sunday's win over the Panthers with a groin issue. Here's what HC Kyle Shanahan said afterward, according to ESPN.com: "He started feeling it, it was a little tight all day. In the 2nd quarter, you could see him coming off the field. We looked into it at halftime -- he didn't feel like he could go." The team expects to test the injury further on Monday, but it doesn't sound like it's believed to be serious. We'll watch for updates.

The 49ers have ruled DE Arik Armstead (foot, ankle) and DT Javon Kinlaw (knee) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. That damages both the run D and pass rush for San Francisco. We'll see, though, whether the Carolina offense can take advantage. We'd still feel comfy using the Niners' team D in fantasy football lineups.

49ers WR Deebo Samuel tallied 6 catches for 115 yards and 1 score in Week 4. He was nearly shutout on the ground (2 carries, 2 yards) but made his night with a 57-yard TD where he broke several tackles. Going back to 2021, Samuel’s now scored 5 TDs of 40+ yards. Next up is a road matchup with Carolina.

49ers TE George Kittle managed only 24 yards on 2 catches in a Week 4 win over the Rams. His 4 targets tied for 2nd on the team and represented a lackluster 14.8% share. Kittle nearly scored, but he couldn’t quite get his 2nd foot down in bounds. So, we’re looking at 2 duds in 2 appearances for the veteran. He at least ran a route on ~86% of Jimmy Garoppolo’s dropbacks — but clearly, we’re headed for volatility with the run-heavy 49ers.

Broncos EDGE Randy Gregory is having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to trim the meniscus. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports he'll miss "anywhere from two to six weeks." That will be a significant loss for the Denver pass rush. Baron Browning figures to benefit the most. He played a season-high 43 snaps in Sunday's loss to the Raiders and also saw elevated snap share back in Week 1, when Gregory had his playing time limited coming off a different injury. Browning doesn't have a QB hit yet this year.

Niners DL Arik Armstead left Monday night's game against the Rams with a foot injury. He has been dealing with plantar fasciitis. We'll see about his status for Week 5.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey entered Sunday questionable with a thigh injury he had to test pregame. But he wound up with normal playing time and 17 of the 18 RB opportunities for Carolina in the loss to the Cardinals. McCaffrey managed only 27 yards on 8 rushes but caught all 9 of his targets for 81 yards and a TD. D'Onta Foreman got the only other RB touch: a 2-yard run. He played 4 snaps to Chuba Hubbard's 3.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold (ankle) is eligible to come off the IR this week but is expected to still be sidelined for "a while," a source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter. This is worth reporting because QB Baker Mayfield has been so bad through 4 games that we're all wondering whether Darnold might actually be an upgrade. Unfortunately, it looks like it'll be Mayfield for at least a few more games.

Broncos EDGE Randy Gregory left Sunday's game with a right knee injury. Mike Klis of 9News reported that he was carrying crutches as he left the locker room after the game but not using them. We'll see about the severity of this injury.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (thigh) is active for today’s game vs. the Cardinals. He carries elevated risk after getting in just a limited practice on Friday. But if you were waiting on him, get McCaffrey into your fantasy lineup.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Panthers are "optimistic" about RB Christian McCaffrey's availability for today's game vs. the Cardinals but that he'll need to test that injured quad in pre-game warmups before a final decision is made. "One key in that test will be going full speed, which he didn’t do much of in practices," Fowler adds. Cardinals-Panthers kicks off at 4:05 pm ET, so we won't get Carolina's inactives until a little after 2:30.

ESPN's Adam Schefter calls Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (thigh) "likely" to play vs. the Cardinals today. "He might not be at full strength" after missing 2 practices this week, Schefter adds. We'll look for further updates on the situation, but unless we hear that McCaffrey's snaps and touches will be significantly scaled back, he belongs in Week 4 fantasy lineups.

49ers RB Ty Davis-Price (ankle), as expected, has been ruled out for Monday night's game vs. the Rams. RB Jeff Wilson played 73% of the offensive snaps, handled 12 of 13 RB carries and saw 3 targets last week and figures to play a similar role on Monday night.

The Panthers list RB Christian McCaffrey as questionable with the quad injury that has limited his activity this week. McCaffrey did take part in Friday's practice. We'll have to watch his status through the weekend.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (quad) missed practice again on Thursday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears, though, that "there is still optimism that he plays" vs. the Cardinals this weekend. "He’s kept it close to the vest, but barring a setback he should be OK," Rapoport adds. We'll get another update on CMC tomorrow.

ESPN Panthers reporter David Newton tweeted that Panthers HC Matt Rhule "sounded like it was no big deal" when he discussed RB Christian McCaffrey's thigh injury Wednesday. "We'll see where he is tomorrow," the coach added. There have been plenty of times that McCaffrey has missed Wednesday's practice only to be ready for full use by game time. If he were to miss any games, we're not sure either Chuba Hubbard or D'Onta Foreman would claim a large enough share of the work to be "the guy" for fantasy football lineups.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey missed Wednesday's practice with a thigh injury. Per insider Joe Person, HC Matt Rhule "wouldn't speculate" on McCaffrey's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Cardinals. We'll see if McCaffrey is able to get on the practice field tomorrow.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk saw 8 targets in a Week 3 loss to Denver. That tied Deebo Samuel for the team lead. From 3 yards out, Aiyuk caught Jimmy Garoppolo’s only TD pass on a well-designed play where Deebo walled off the nearest defender. While George Kittle’s return adds volatility, Aiyuk remains an ascending talent with a high weekly ceiling. Don’t be surprised if he’s in the WR3 mix for Sunday’s divisional tilt with the Rams.

49ers TE George Kittle made his season debut Week 3 at Denver but managed only 4 catches for 28 yards. He saw 5 targets — a 17.2% share — and posted a strong 82% route rate. Brighter days are ahead for Kittle, assuming he can dodge further injury woes. Next up is a meeting with the Rams.