Panthers' Dicaprio Bootle: Lands on IR

Carolina placed Bootle (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday.

Bootle began the season on the Panthers' practice squad but managed to work his way up to a prominent role, starting each of the past two weeks with Jaycee Horn (hamstring) and CJ Henderson (concussion) out of action. However, the 26-year-old hurt his knee this past Sunday in a loss to Dallas and will now be required to sit out at least four games. The impact of Bootle's absence should be softened somewhat with Jeremy Chinn (quadriceps) being designated to return from IR on Wednesday. Horn was also recently designated to return from IR, and Henderson practiced in limited fashion Wednesday, though he's still in the league's concussion protocol.