Another Panther's season came to an end on Friday when the team placed defensive tackle Tank Tyler on injured reserve. He suffered a sprained knee late in the second quarter of last week's game at the New York Jets. Tyler did not practice this week and was listed as out for Sunday's game versus Tampa Bay.
Tyler joined Carolina in a trade with Kansas City on Oct. 20 and played in six games, registering 13 tackles and one quarterback pressure. He had been acquired to shore up the interior of a defensive line that had been beset by preseason and early season injuries. Now, Tyler becomes the 10th player overall and fourth defensive tackle to land on injured reserve.
The Panthers' injury woes at defensive tackle began during the first practice of training camp when Maake Kemoeatu tore his Achilles tendon. That was followed by Corvey Irvin sustaining a torn medial collateral ligament in the preseason finale. Then, Louis Leonard - a preseason trade acquisition from Cleveland - fractured his ankle in the second game of the year.
To take Tyler's roster spot, Carolina claimed defensive tackle Derek Landri (6 feet 2 inches, 290 pounds) off waivers from Jacksonville. In his third NFL season, he has played in 35 games and posted 52 tackles and three sacks. Landri saw action in the Jaguars' first seven games this year but was inactive the next four before being waived after playing in 15 games and generating 23 tackles, two sacks and 15 quarterback pressures in 2008.
Originally a fifth-round draft choice (166th overall) from Notre Dame by Jacksonville in 2007, Landri played in 13 games as a rookie and notched 14 tackles and 14 quarterback pressures. He shined in the postseason, producing a sack, interception and fumble recovery of Ben Roethlisberger in the Jaguars' AFC Wild Card win over Pittsburgh.
Landri becomes the eighth defensive tackle to appear on the Panthers' 53-man roster since the beginning of the regular season. The others are: Antwon Burton, Ra'Shon Harris, Nick Hayden, Leonard, Damione Lewis, Hollis Thomas and Tyler.
