CHARLOTTE – For all intents and purposes, Monday felt like a normal day in the Carolina Panthers facility. Guys milled about, recapping the game from Sunday, looking ahead to the week. A group of four young guys hung out in one end of the locker room, debating who was the Heisman front-runner thus far, while on the other end of the locker room, defensive veterans were joined by Thomas Davis for a card game.

But in a league where attrition rules the day, the Panthers have had their fair share in just the first five weeks of the season. The club took another hit on Sunday, losing center Austin Corbett (biceps) for the year. Dave Canales told reporters on Monday that Corbett will have surgery soon. Brady Christensen will step in at center.

"Just another blow, with a guy that just stands for everything that I believe in," Canales said of Austin Corbett on Monday. "The work ethic, the practice habits, the professionalism, his positive outlook in terms of what can be on the next drive, just continuing to work, you know, and control the things that he can control. So, definitely, my heart is with Austin."

Corbett is not the only offensive lineman to experience a set-back in Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears. Tackle Taylor Moton (triceps) will be week-to-week, but will not play in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons. In his place, the Panthers will look to backup tackle Yosh Nijman.

Nijman was signed this spring as a free agent, in hopes of having a quality, experienced back-up who has played multiple positions. Nijman was somewhat hampered in the offseason as he recovered from an offseason surgery. He has played a handful of special team snaps through the first four weeks but saw his first offensive action against the Bears after Moton exited with injury.

"I thought Yosh showed that he's a big athletic guy," Canales said. "He's what we thought coming in here, to have a good swing tackle just in case something happens, and he's progressed really nicely, just working through some of the preseason physical things that he was kind of getting his legs back underneath him. And he stepped in, and I thought he did a solid job."

Added Ikem Ekwonu on Nijman, "Obviously he's a bigger guy. He's got great technique but, I feel like, really buys into the mindset that we have, we want to dominate people. I feel like he really buys into that."

Even having the experience of Nijman on hand to take over, losing Moton is still a knock not only on the field, but for what his mere presence represented. Ahead of Sunday's exit, Moton had 104 consecutive starts since 2018 and had played 6,787 consecutive snaps.

Said Canales of the streak: "Guys are always going to have things that you got to find a way to work through. And I think that as we continue to build this team, the guys that can find a way to make their way back to practice in some way, shape or form, and that trust factor that goes back and forth between the medical staff, the coaching staff, the players taking all that information and saying, 'OK, what can we get out of this day because every day is so important.' For Taylor to do that, to have that kind of a streak, you know he was working through things, and for him to be able to find a way to get back out there, it speaks volumes to who we want to be as a team."

Canales said Monday that the scheme could change "within reason," but that's part of the approach anyways week-to-week, when looking at where the pass rushers are on the opposing defense.

The starting five on the line had been a bright spot for the Panthers in the first quarter of the season, consistently grading out as one of the best units each week. Ekwonu feels confident though that the line can maintain its production thanks to the fact Christensen has 24 starts with the Panthers under his belt.

"It's good, you know, obviously having that chemistry, not having to start from ground zero, it's definitely gonna be helpful for us," Ekwonu said of playing with Christensen.

"Brady, I mean, I can't say enough about Brady. I think he's played literally every position that you can ask him to play on offensive line. So definitely impressive, you know, the skill set that he has and definitely excited to have that chemistry with him already."

Christensen first took center snaps in OTAs this offseason. He's been watching Corbett, who also made the switch from guard to center, though and is ready to take over.

"I've been working on it for a while and feel confident in the playbook and the protections and everything," Christensen said on Monday. "So I'm just going to study my butt off this week and get ready to go. I'm excited. I'm going to have a lot of fun and, just, you know, excited for the opportunity."

Injury updates

In other injury news, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and receiver Xavier Legette both with shoulder issues, are considered day-to-day, and Canales said they will "take it as the week goes."

Tight end Tommy Tremble remains in concussion protocol.

Corner Dane Jackson and tight end Ian Thomas both had what Canales called "solid weeks" as the work back to the game field.

"So, this week is really, really crucial for both of those guys," Canales continued. "The return to play aspect involves everything but the full speed game."

The window to practice for outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum and running back Jonathon Brooks has not yet been opened but Canales said on Monday they are "really close."

Horn on end of game scuffle

Corner Jaycee Horn was ejected in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss, after a fight between he and Bears offensive lineman Matt Pryor, who was ejected as well.

Horn took accountability on Monday, explaining he let trash talk get out of hand.

"I felt like it was a little extra shove by him at the end of the play, but they usually get the guy that retaliates. And I lost my composure a little bit due to the circumstances of the game. So it's definitely on me."

Teammates immediately jumped in behind the starter, with some defending Horn and others pulling him away, but all having his back, as Horn said.

"Those are my brothers. I know win, lose or draw, they're going to be fighting with me till the end."

Canales told reporters after the game on Sunday Horn was instigated. But it's a reminder to keep emotions in check.

"We can't retaliate, they always catch the second person. And actually, you know, fairly, the officials kind of saw all that happened and officiated it the proper way, but we just got to maintain our composure and know on a day like this, let's finish with class, let's finish on our terms, and then we'll get back to work."

Red zone woes

Horn's scuffle broke out after the Bears scored a 1-yard touchdown, to make the score 36-10 in the fourth quarter. In total, the Bears were 3-4 in the red zone, compared to the Panthers 0-2. It was an area Canales pointed to on Monday, as the final straw of the Bears winning in every important category.

"In every single critical area that leads to success, on Sunday, we got beat," Canales said. "From a coaching standpoint, we're looking at our schemes, we're evaluating all that, the players, they want to get their execution right.

"They want to work on those, the fundamentals of our principles and our calls. But again, you know, it all starts with effort, and I loved the effort that we got. The film shows a team that's playing really hard. It's about execution. It's about owning our concepts."

This was not a one-time thing, however. Through five games, opponents have gone 14-of-16 in the redzone and 11-of-11 on goal-to-go situations.

Said Horn, "Got to be better, you know, it's some accumulation stopping the run, stopping – I don't know the numbers of how many times they ran it in there and I threw it in, but at the end of the day, it's a higher percentage that they're scoring on.

"So you got to do a better job of holding to them three points and giving our offense a chance to, or giving the team a chance to stay in the game because that's a big difference; seven points and three points."

The key to red zone defense, according to Canales? Making a team one-dimensional.

"It all starts with the run game," the head coach explained. "I think when I flip my hat to the offensive coach, when you look at the best red zone teams across the league every year, it starts with the run game. It starts with teams that are able to kind of continue to make yards to get you closer, and that's an area that we're really focused on working on as a defense.

"If you can make a team one dimensional in the red zone and force them to pass, that's when your ability for success increases, and so that's something that we've been attacking really."