CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are playing the league's hottest quarterback, and a high-functioning passing game, and they're doing it with a secondary full of questions.

In addition to suspended safety Tre'von Moehrig, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said that cornerback Jaycee Horn is expected to miss this week's game after suffering a concussion against the 49ers.

That's created a lot of new looks at practice this week, but Canales remains confident.

"I trust these guys to get it done," he said. "And they had a great week of preparation."

At cornerback, they'll have Mike Jackson starting in his normal spot, and Chau Smith-Wade and Akayleb Evans available to play outside. Smith-Wade has mostly played nickel since arriving here last year, but bumped outside last week when Horn and Corey Thornton were injured. (Thornton went on IR this week with a broken fibula).

Canales said they'd rotate a number of looks there. They also brought cornerback Robert Rochell off the Cowboys practice squad, and he has familiarity with the defense from his time with the Rams and coaches Ejiro Evero and Jonathan Cooley.

At safety, Ransom is at least close to a like-for-like with Moehrig, and they also have Demani Richardson, along with veteran starter Nick Scott.

"I mean, opportunities," Canales said of the replacements. "This is something that, you know, Lathan has really been working on for a while now and so if you had a chance to be out there with Nick Scott communicating with him, Demani's been really a part of what we're doing. He's into it. He's ready to rock as well."

Another week, another offensive line rotation

For those keeping count at home, this will be the 10th offensive line rotation the Panthers have played with in 13 games this season. Canales told reporters on Friday that Jake Curhan was expected to start at right guard in place of the injured Chandler Zavala.

"Pretty much the list of guys that we thought, we were trying to get back out there to see if we can move them around, we weren't able to do that," Canales said, listing Zavala among that group.

Curhan has played in eight games for the Panthers this season. While he hasn't started one yet, he has contributed on 15.4 percent of the offensive snaps in those games, including two games in which he played a majority of the game in place of other injured guards: the Packers in Week 9 and the 49ers in Week 12.

"Generally, Jake is a really intelligent guy and understands our schemes, what we're trying to get done," said Canales on Friday. The coach and player spent two years together in Seattle when Curhan was signed there after college. He's got a lot of experience, so different fronts, different types of movement, he's used to those things. And then on top of that, he's massive."

For reference, Curhan is listed at 6-6 and 316 pounds.

"He is a big man, and he's got great power in the run game and in the pass game. He sits tight and uses his hands, and that's what I've known about Jake for a long time now. Whether it was tackle or guard, just his ability to process the game and make the adjustments that are required during the middle of the game.

"So I trust Jake a lot. I'm glad he's here, and he's got a great opportunity this week."

He will be lining up next to Austin Corbett, who is at center. Canales told reporters Cade Mays (ankle) would be unavailable for another week.

Mike White concludes his week as Matthew Stafford

As a scout team quarterback, Mike White is asked to be many men to many people. Each week, his task is to emulate that week's opponent to the best of his ability. That means not only playbook, but tendencies at the line, cadences, and even how a quarterback breaks the huddle.

This week, White—who has been in the league for eight years—was cast as 17-year vet Matthew Stafford.

"He did an excellent job and (defensive coordinator) Ejiro (Evero) was very complimentary of Mike and Andy Dalton for being able to try to replicate the speed of play," Canales said of the quarterback's response to Stafford's play style.

The Rams are famous for playing lightning fast, even before the ball is snapped. It was something the Panthers' defense had to prepare for this week, and White handled the speed well.

"How they break the huddle, how they get up to the line, the shifts and motions all have to be really crisp, and our guys did a great job all across the board for a couple of days," Canales bragged. "Really appreciative of our scout team, making that come to life because we have to be ready for that pace."

Dave Canales grew up a Rams fan

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young grew up in Southern California, and he remembers the Rams coming back to Los Angeles in 2016 when he was in high school.

Dave Canales, being a little older, remembers them leaving when he was 13 years old.

Canales said rather than letting his Rams fandom follow to St. Louis when the team left after the 1994 season (just in time for the Panthers to join them in the NFC West).

"I was a Rams fan back in the day, and so you kind of have to pick," Canales said. "You're in LA. Are you going to be a Raiders fan or a Rams fan? I was a Rams fan at the time. That was Jim Everett, and that whole crew. So I remember them leaving and I remember just being so pissed.

"At the time, Dan Marino was my favorite player. So once the Rams left LA, I was like, all right, well I think I'm a Dolphins fan now because I've always followed Dan. And so there was a little back and forth. But to get the Rams back in LA meant a lot for the community and all the people that were still rocking their Rams stuff for my whole childhood."