CHARLOTTE — Claudin Cherelus was out of the boot he was wearing all week on Thursday, but he's not ready to play, which is forcing the Panthers to adjust at linebacker again this week.

With Cherelus ruled out, the Panthers are thin at the position, with veteran Krys Barnes and rookie Bam Martin-Scott up next to play next to Christian Rozeboom.

Barnes has played in 74 games with 32 starts in his career, but he didn't practice Tuesday because of a back issue. He's listed as questionable on the final injury report.

Martin-Scott has played defense in a couple of games this year (San Francisco and Seattle).

"We've been working him back in, looking better and better each day; so hopefully we'll get him out there," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said of Barnes. "Krys has played some good snaps for us, and then we got a couple of other guys."

Canales said if need be, known commodity Jacoby Windmon could be activated from the practice squad for depth.

But obviously, Barnes' experience is significant in a situation like this with the playoffs on the line.

"Extremely valuable," Canales said. "Just with the week of preparation, and what do you do? You don't do anything different. You go about it the same way, and you attack the work, and Krys has been a stud for us. We've asked him to play special teams roles, pop in there and play linebacker for us, he's a guy that can handle a lot and has really good experience within our scheme. So, really fortunate that he's here."

Hunt and Moore's status remains questionable

Offensive lineman Robert Hunt and receiver David Moore both continued to practice this week, within their 21-day window to be activated. Both are officially considered questionable for the game, but Canales isn't quite ready to commit to either playing on Saturday against the Buccaneers. However, it is for different reasons.

"David had a fantastic week, you know, at this point it's just about figuring out, roster-wise, when that makes sense for us," Canales explained. The roster is currently full at 53 men, so for Moore to be activated, a man would have to be cut.

As for Hunt, it remains a matter of having him physically ready.

"Rob was able to do a little bit more, but we got to see how his body responds tomorrow (Friday), and that's why, you know, it's questionable right now for Rob.

"We were able to kind of ramp up his work, but it's like the recovery of what does this thing feel like the next day, where are we at in terms of football, whole football readiness."

Some of the challenges with testing Hunt's readiness stem from the fact that teams are not in pads at this late stage of the season. And for an offensive lineman, a lot of their work centers around being as physical as possible, something that isn't full tested unless in pads.

"We were able to simulate some things from a physical standpoint," Canales shared, before continuing, "Not being in pads certainly does present its challenges. If we were just practicing in the normal scheme of the season and being able to hit each other and all that, you can gather a little bit more information."

However, considering Hunt's injury is in his biceps, the coaches can still gather a lot of information from non-padded drills.

"The nature of the injury, he just needs that physical change of direction and getting his hands split the right way. So we were able to evaluate some of that."

Both Hunt and Moore were full participants on Tuesday and Wednesday, while both remained limited on Thursday.

Asked if he was more "bullish" on the possibility of having Moore than Hunt, though, Canales said yes.

No question about Baker Mayfield's toughness

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield popped up on Tampa Bay's injury report this week with right shoulder and knee. He was a limited participant on Tuesday, but was able to practice fully on Wednesday.

Those who know him well, such as Canales (who was Mayfield's coordinator in Tampa in 2023) and Derrick Brown (who was teammates with Mayfield in Carolina), fully expect to see him on the field Saturday.

"My short time with Baker, this is a tough guy. This is a competitor. He's a great teammate. He's going to be out there with this team, and he's going to give everything he has," Canales said Thursday. "We got to expect that. We got to be ready for that version of Baker, and, so, and I respect him for it, and I've seen him battle through things and find his way to game day and give everything he has."

Mayfield suffered a left shoulder injury against the Rams earlier in the season but returned the next week. The left shoulder is Mayfield's non-throwing shoulder, but he has thrown five of his 10 interceptions in the five games since. As to whether the right shoulder injury could affect Mayfield on Saturday, though, shouldn't change his availability, said Brown.

"Knowing 6, he'll be out there Saturday," said Brown. "He'll be out there for sure. So, you know, I think he's the ultimate competitor, so we'll see him out there Saturday."