CHARLOTTE – The Panthers have lost a third starter to a season-ending injury.
Head coach Ron Rivera said left guard Amini Silatolu is out for the year with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, joining right guard Garry Williams (knee) and free safety Charles Godfrey (Achilles).
Silatolu – the team's second-round draft choice in 2012 – suffered the injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game at Arizona and was replaced by Travelle Wharton.
"It's disappointing, obviously," Rivera said. "We are going to lose him for the season."
Moving forward, the Panthers have Wharton and Chris Scott manning the guard spots. But Rivera admitted that of the concerns facing the team, he's most concerned about the depth situation along the offensive line.
"We've got to see what we can do as far as fixing the depth," Rivera said. "It's kind of been two seasons in a row where we've had to go through this. Last year, we played well down the stretch with a group of young guys that hadn't gotten a lot of snaps, so I believe it is something we can get going in the right direction."
Last season, the Panthers made some schematic adjustments to help a patchwork offensive line which lost Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil in Week 5. With the team's two starting guards now lost for the season, Rivera said similar adjustments may be necessary in 2013.
"Last year, we did some things that were a little bit different because of what our situation was," Rivera said. "Those are obviously things that we'll have to look at."
In addition to needing to fill Silatolu's spot on the active roster, the Panthers have a second vacant spot after waiving linebacker Ben Jacobs on Monday.
