The Carolina Panthers' trade of Adam Thielen appeared to open the way for Jalen Coker. However, things took an unfortunate turn for Coker as he landed on Injured Reserve just ahead of Week 1.
After Coker was placed on IR, Panthers head coach Dave Canales spoke about the extent of the injury for the young wide receiver, per Sheena Quick of Fox Sports.
“He got a pretty significant quad strain, Canales said. “Bummed out for Jalen whose had a fantastic camp.”
It's a tough development for Coker, who was expected to have a bigger role for the Panthers after Thielen was dealt.
“But at the same time, we're really excited about our young core of receivers. Jalen Coker's gonna step into the slot. We utilized a lot of resources with [Xavier Legette and Tetairoa McMillan]. So we have guys that we're really excited about, and I think that definitely made me feel more comfortable pulling the trigger and trading him,” Panthers Gm Dan Morgan said following the Thielen trade.
Coker played college football at Holy Cross and caught 163 passes for 2,684 yards with 31 touchdowns in four seasons, including double-digit touchdowns each of the last two seasons and 50 catches or more in the final three.
Despite the strong numbers, Coker went undrafted but signed a deal with the Panthers shortly after the 2024 NFL draft, and now he is on the 53-man roster with a lot of buzz around him.
Although Coker is out for some time, the Panthers did re-sign veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow after he was initially released ahead of the roster cut day.
Entering Week 1, Carolina has rookie Tetairoa McMillan along with Xavier Legette and David Moore listed as the top-three wide receivers on the depth chart, but Coker should be a name to watch whenever he returns from injury.
