A week after losing three starters, the injury news continued to get worse for the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday when the team placed running back DeAngelo Williams on injured reserve with a sprained right foot.
"He was probably two to three weeks away (from being healthy enough to play)," head coach John Fox said. "It was healing a little slower than originally expected, and we needed a roster spot."
Williams suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Panthers game versus the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 24 and had been inactive the last three weeks. He finished the season with 361 yards and one touchdown on 87 carries and posted 11 receptions for 61 yards.
For the Panthers, Williams becomes the 10th player to be out for the season and the fourth to land on injured reserve in the last eight days.
Carolina's injury woes are furthered with 10 players on the injury report for Sunday's game versus the Baltimore Ravens. The list includes: linebacker Jon Beason (knee), quarterback Jimmy Clausen (concussion), wide receiver Brandon LaFell (concussion), running back Jonathan Stewart (concussion), running back Tyrell Sutton (ankle) and guard Travelle Wharton (toe) – all of whom did not practice on Wednesday.
"We started off a little thin and stayed healthy for some time. Then over the last couple of weeks the injury bug has bit us," Fox said. "We'll just move on. It will be a next man up approach, and that's the way we'll approach it.
The rash of injuries prompted Carolina to sign guard C.J. Davis off of the practice squad and add running back Jeremiah Johnson to the practice squad.
Davis (6-2, 308 pounds) attended the last two training camps with the Panthers. Originally signed as an undrafted rookie from Pittsburgh in 2009, he spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a right ankle injury and was waived/injured in the final roster cutdown this year before being signed to the practice squad on Nov. 1.
Johnson (5-9, 218 pounds) went to training camp the last two years with the Houston Texans and was on the Washington Redskins' practice squad for one day earlier this season. He rushed for 107 yards on 19 attempts during the 2010 preseason but suffered a dislocated toe in the final preseason game and was waived/injured after spending his rookie campaign on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
A high school teammate of Carolina wide receiver David Gettis at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles and backfield mate of running back Jonathan Stewart at Oregon, Johnson compiled 2,336 yards and 30 touchdowns on 349 carries in four seasons with the Ducks prior to being signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Texans in 2009.
