Panthers lose Donte Jackson for remainder of season to torn Achilles

The Carolina Panthers will be down a starting cornerback for the rest of this season.

Donte Jackson suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons in Charlotte, the team announced Friday.

Jackson appeared to suffer the injury in the fourth quarter of the game after he fell to the ground as he was trying to tackle quarterback Marcus Mariota. 

Jackson limped to the sidelines after the non-contact injury during Carolina’s 25-15 win over Atlanta.

He underwent an MRI Friday, and the team later confirmed the injury would end his season.

Jackson started in all nine of Carolina’s games this season and recorded 30 tackles and two interceptions. One of his interceptions was a pick six.

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The former LSU standout started 60 games over his five-year career with the Panthers. He has 14 career interceptions.

The 27-year-old was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He signed a three-year, $35 million contract extension with the Panthers in the offseason.

Carolina is expected to replace Jackson with cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and C.J. Henderson for the rest of the year. 

Horn was the Panthers’ top pick in last year’s draft, while Henderson was taken with the No. 9 overall pick in 2020.

The Panthers are 3-7 but are still in the race for the NFC South title. The first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a record of 4-5. 

The Bucs traveled to Germany this week for a game against the Seahawks.

The Panthers, whose Week 10 win ended a two-game losing streak, travel to Baltimore Nov. 20 to face the Ravens.