Jaycee Horn came up lame early in Carolina’s week one debut against the Falcons. After leaving the medical tent and heading for the locker room before half, it quickly became clear that Horn wasn’t going to return. Asked later about the injury, Frank Reich said they were contining to evaluate the injury. ESPN’s Scott Fowler reported today that Horn will miss multiple weeks because of the hamstring injury, which some are wondering will land him on IR.
#Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury suffered Sunday in Atlanta, per sources.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 12, 2023
Horn missed 14 games with a foot injury in his rookie season, then four games with a broken wrist in his second season, and has dealt with an ankle injury throughout the Panthers 2023 training camp. Now a hamstring injury will cause him to miss significant time before the season even really kicks off. Horn was visibly unhappy as he left the field, and he is more frustrated than the fans who are continuously clamoring that the Panthers should have picked Patrick Surtain instead of the injury-prone Horn. Donte Jackson, no stranger to challenges with injury and the burden of the injury-prone label discussed just how disheartening this injury is for Horn and his empathetic teammates, stating:
That’s why it sucks, man, Because you see a guy like him, who constantly goes overboard to take care of his body, and then he gets told he’s injury prone, and he gets told that he can’t stay healthy and stuff. But like behind the scenes, you know, you see how hard he actually works to be out there. And it just sucks because he’ll never have that narrative not on his name. And it just sucks, man. It sucks for him. He’s such a great player, such a great professional, and you just hate to see it. You just hate to see it.
Injury prone is a terrible label, but as the injuries continue to pile up, it’s hard to fight off the classification. At the very least, Horn has had some real tough luck while in Carolina.
This is certainly a blow to Carolina’s secondary, who now looks to Troy Pride and CJ Henderson to fill the void left by the talented but oft-injured Horn.
By Tony Dunn
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