CHARLOTTE — The Panthers placed tight end Hayden Hurst on injured reserve Friday, ending his season.

Hurst suffered a concussion late in the Week 10 Chicago game and remains in the concussion protocol.

He's missed the last four games because of the injury and only began doing individual drills in a red no-contact jersey last week. He was absent this week.

The veteran pass-catcher, signed as a free agent from the Bengals this offseason, finished with 18 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown this year.

The Panthers have been wracked by injuries at the position, with Ian Thomas and Stephen Sullivan having stints on IR already this year but returning, and Thomas suffered an ankle injury last week against the Saints that has kept him out of practice.

That leaves a somewhat healthy Tommy Tremble and Sullivan, along with practice-squader Jordan Matthews and the recently acquired Chris Pierce.

The Panthers also placed guard Justin McCray on IR, continuing a season-long trend at the position.

The 31-year-old McCray suffered a calf injury on the first play of Sunday's game against the Saints.

He played in four games this year and started the last two.

He's the fourth guard to land on injured reserve this season, joining Brady Christensen, Austin Corbett, and Chandler Zavala.

The Panthers have used six different players at left guard and seven different players at left guard this season.

They also now have 16 players on IR (including two on practice squad injured reserve), in addition to the six who were designated to return and came back during the season.

The Panthers also signed defensive end Chris Wormley to the active roster from the practice squad, filling one of the available spots on the 53-man roster.

Wormley was elevated from the practice squad the maximum of three times already this year, so to play again, he needed to go on the 53.