Carolina Panthers: Vernon Butler on Injury Report with Dislocated Finger

Carolina Panthers rookie defensive tackle Vernon Butler showed up on the injury report with a finger injury ahead of their Thursday Week 1 matchup

There are many things that the Carolina Panthers have done well over the past five years. However, their chief achievement has been their ability to continuously find talent on the defensive line. With the market being so lucrative in free agency, the Panthers’ ability to develop players on the line and in the front seven has been immaculate. Thus, there are high hopes for what they’ll be able to do with their 2016 first-round pick, Vernon Butler.

Coming out of Louisiana Tech, Butler looked the part of the next force to plug into the Carolina defensive line. Though he spent most of the preseason playing with the second-unit, he still figures to factor into the first-string rotation on the defensive line. However, there might be a bit of a delay in that happening.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Panthers have listed Vernon Butler on the Tuesday injury report. Butler reportedly dislocated his finger heading into Week 1, which obviously leaves us here. However, Rapoport also adds that Butler “should be fine:”

Butler was already listed on the Panthers depth chart behind Kawann Short. Subsequently, Carolina isn’t going to be left with a big hole in their front-seven. However, this is still a bit of unfortunate news for the defending NFC Champions.

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There’s reason to have high hopes for the impact Vernon Butler could have immediately. Even if he’s not the starter, he has the ability to bolster the line when Short needs to rotate out or take a rest. With this finger injury, that impact might be delayed a bit. However, expect Butler to come back into the fold sooner rather than later.