Among the other bruises and indignities the Panthers suffered last night, they lost last year’s first-round pick.
The good news is, the injury to defensive tackle Star Lotulelei wasn’t as bad as it appeared.
Via Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Lotulelei’s MRI came back negative, and that he was expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Falcons but could return after the bye week.
He said earlier today that X-rays were negative last night, and that it wasn’t a high-ankle sprain.
The Panthers are sufficiently deep in the middle, but any hit to that defense is a blow. They’re a bit of a mess without franchised pass-rusher Greg Hardy, and Lotulelei hasn’t been able to make nearly as much of an impact this year as he did as a rookie.