CHARLOTTE — Veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson, a five-time team captain, was lost for the season to a torn Achilles suffered in Sunday's loss to the Bengals.
Thompson went down without contact on the final play of the third quarter.
After hobbling a few steps, he sat down on the turf before he was helped off the field and carted to the locker room with a towel over his head.
The team's first-round pick in 2015, he was an important bridge from the Luke Kuechly/Thomas Davis era to the present day and one of just three players on the roster to have appeared in the team's last playoff game (following the 2017 season), along with JJ Jansen and Taylor Moton.
The 30-year-old Thompson played in just two games last season before suffering a broken ankle.
The Panthers also lost linebacker Josey Jewell shortly after Thompson's injury and finished the game with rookie Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus inside.
Thompson is fourth on the Panthers all-time tackle list with 741, trailing Kuechly (1,092), Davis (1,077) and Mike Minter (771).
Shaq Thompson has 698 tackles in eight seasons with the Panthers, placing him fourth all-time in tackles in franchise history.
