Panthers put Shaq Thompson on IR, make 4 other roster decisions ahead of game vs. Bears

The Carolina Panthers made several injury-related decisions on Saturday ahead of their Week 5 road game against the Chicago Bears.

The biggest move is the one Panthers fans saw coming. Shaq Thompson, the team’s defensive captain, was moved to the team’s injured reserve list on Saturday.

The inside linebacker tore his Achilles tendon last week in the second half against the Bengals, and the Panthers confirmed on Monday that his injury was season-ending.

The move leaves the roster at 52 — opening up a spot should the team decide to go after some talent to bulk up a injury-riddled defense.

In addition to the Thompson news, the Panthers made a few important injury-related decisions:

▪ The team elevated outside linebacker Thomas Incoom and defensive lineman TJ Smith from the practice squad. These count as one of their three standard elevations, in accordance with league rules.

Incoom’s elevation could be a sign of things to come for starting OLB Charles Harris, who showed up as questionable in this week’s injury report with a shoulder injury. Smith had a pretty productive preseason and will be helping out a defensive line that is down star Derrick Brown (out for the season). The team last week was also without starting nose tackle Shy Tuttle, who is questionable again this week with a foot injury.

▪ The Panthers also downgraded two starters who showed up as “questionable” on the injury report this week — tight end Ian Thomas and cornerback Dane Jackson. They are both out for the game. They began practicing this week as part of their returns from the injured reserve list — after starting the season on IR — but were not activated to the 53-man roster.