Panthers place Pat Elflein on injured reserve

CHARLOTTE — The Panthers knew they were going to be without veteran guard Pat Elflein for this week’s game.

Now they know he’ll miss at least the next three.

The Panthers put Elflein on injured reserve Tuesday, after he suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s win over the Saints. That means at least a three-week absence.

The vacant roster spot will be filled with the activation of cornerback A.J. Bouye from the reserve/suspended list.

Bouye returned to practice this week, and unless his conditioning is a problem, is expected to play Thursday against the Texans.

The Panthers will have to adjust the roster a bit.

Since Elflein was the de facto backup center behind Matt Paradis, they’ll need another option in the middle. That could point to another call-up from the practice squad for Sam Tecklenburg, who has been active for both games already this year. He was a COVID-19 elevation for John Miller in the opener, and a standard elevation last week, meaning he has one more before he reaches the limit for elevations.