Two Carolina Panthers starting offensive linemen will move to injured reserve
The Carolina Panthers suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday evening.
They announced two more massive losses the next day.
The Panthers will be without starting center Austin Corbett and starting right guard Robert Hunt for a while. Head coach Dave Canales told reporters Monday that both players will be moving to the injured reserve list after suffering injuries in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Week 2 contest.
Hunt tore his left biceps, and Corbett suffered a grade 3 MCL sprain, Canales said. Both had MRIs Monday morning.
Canales is hopeful that both will be able to return to play at some point in the season, though he didn’t provide a timetable, citing that “it’s going to be a result of the follow-up” and how each injury’s treatment goes. Canales added that “we will give you more specific timelines sometime this week.”
“Two studs,” Canales said. “Two guys that we count on in the locker room, on the field. Their leadership, their positivity, their hard work, all those things — we’re certainly going to miss those guys being out there. They’ll be around us. And I kind of hit them right afterward and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to need you.’”
A big blow to the Panthers’ offense
The news is a big blow to a Carolina offense that is still finding its rhythm and identity — and one that finally hit a groove in the second half of the Panthers’ 27-22 loss to the Cardinals.
Cade Mays will start at center in Corbett’s stead. Third-year guard and former fourth-round draft pick out of N.C. State — Chandler Zavala — will take up the mantle at right guard.
“We’re going to miss those guys,” Canales continued of Hunt and Corbett. “They’ll be with us. They’ll be around here. But we’ll miss them on the field.
“I think about Cade and the opportunity for Chandler coming in there. But between Austin and Rob, these are two guys that I lean on also just for messaging, and for the toughness, and the fight and discipline, and just to continue to go back to work. So we’ll certainly miss those guys that way.”
This is Hunt’s second season with the Panthers. He signed with the franchise in the spring of 2024 to a five-year, $100 million deal and injected immediate interior-line stability along with fellow interior lineman free agent acquisition Damien Lewis. The 29-year-old finished 2024 with a Pro Bowl nod.
This marks the first major injury of Hunt’s career.
The same unfortunately could not be said of Corbett, the 30-year-old lineman and 2018 second-round pick. Corbett was a starter for the 2021 Los Angeles Rams when they won the Super Bowl, and he played that same position with aplomb when he came to Carolina in 2022. Thereafter, however, knee injuries in 2022 and 2023 prevented him from walking off the field healthy in Week 18 — and then a biceps injury in 2024 truncated his season to just five games played.
Corbett returned to the Panthers this offseason on a one-year deal and beat out Mays for the starting job at center this offseason.
What will become of those newly available roster slots?
The Panthers have not yet announced what they will do with the two newly available slots on the active roster.
Mays and Zavala, despite being reserves, are plenty experienced.
Mays played in nine games in 2024 for the Panthers after being signed off the New York Giants practice squad, and played well. He didn’t allow a sack and only two QB hits in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. His best performance came in the team’s season-finale against the Atlanta Falcons, where he notched a PFF grade of 81.4. All of this was enough for the team to place a tender on the restricted free agent and bring him back in 2025.
Zavala, meanwhile, saw snaps in 13 games last season and started two games. He didn’t allow a sack or a QB hit and only relinquished three quarterback hurries, via PFF.
The strides the Panthers’ offensive line took a year ago was part of the reason why the team made such a concerted effort to keep its OL unit intact this offseason. Every offensive lineman on the Panthers’ roster played for the team last year. That includes the starting five and Mays and Zavala, yes, but also Yosh Nijman — who started at left tackle against the Jacksonville Jaguars when Ikem Ekwonu was out — and the versatile Brady Christensen, who too was a free agent at the end of 2024 who returned for 2025.
“It was the versatility of the group,” Canales said of the offensive line. The coach added, “The way that they work together. The camaradarie they have. They’re, by number and size, the biggest group that we have on the team. They have a lot of personality. And it was a really cool thing to be able to bring all those guys back.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Two Carolina Panthers starting offensive linemen will move to injured reserve."
