Carolina Panthers outside linebacker DJ Johnson may be facing yet another obstacle in his young NFL career.
The 25-year-old was carted off from Tuesday’s outing of mandatory minicamp after sustaining what appeared to be a leg injury. Johnson, who had his right knee heavily wrapped, was captured exiting the practice in the following video from Vashti Hurt of Carolina Blitz:
DJ Johnson is being carted off the field and taken back to the locker room. His right knee was bandaged. pic.twitter.com/qtMAH71h1Y
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) June 11, 2024
Head coach Dave Canales was asked if the team knew the severity of the injury after the session.
“We don’t,” he replied. “We’re gonna get a look at him this afternoon, at some point. They’ll get an MRI, they’ll check everything out. So, I think it was in a special teams drill. Just really hoping for the best with that.”
Carolina traded up to last year’s 80th overall pick to select Johnson, a raw prospect out of the University of Oregon. He went on to play in just 231 defensive snaps as a rookie, amassing all of 16 tackles and zero tackles over 13 appearances.
Update (2:58 p.m. ET):
Dave Canales said edge rusher DJ Johnson, who was carted off on Tuesday, has a calf injury and is shut down the remainder of mandatory minicamp. The Panthers' coach expects Johnson back full by training camp.
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) June 11, 2024
