CHARLOTTE – Charles Johnson's hamstring injury will sideline him until at least Thanksgiving.
The defensive end has been placed on injured reserve/designated for return, meaning he'll be eligible to return to game action in Week 12 when the Panthers visit the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Johnson suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Teams are allowed to use the designation on one player per season. Under the tag, Johnson can return to practice Nov. 10 and can be added back to the roster beginning Nov. 24. He won't count toward the 53-man limit until then.
The roster spot previously held by Johnson is now occupied by former Chicago Bears defensive end Jared Allen, who officially joined the Panthers via a trade earlier in the day. Allen will join Mario Addison, Kony Ealy and Wes Horton in the rotation.
The Panthers also filled the empty spot on their practice squad Tuesday by signing safety Marcus Ball, who was waived by the Panthers in the final roster cutdown after playing in 12 games with two starts for New Orleans in 2014. The spot was available after Carolina signed wide receiver Brenton Bersin to the 53-man roster from the practice squad Saturday.
