Panthers place Juston Burris, Keith Kirkwood on reserve/injured list

Myles Simmons

CHARLOTTE - The Panthers on Tuesday placed safety Juston Burris and wide receiver Keith Kirkwood on the reserve/injured list as part of a series of transactions.

Burris suffered an injury to his ribs during the third quarter of Sunday's loss to Chicago. He attempted to walk gingerly off the field with medical personnel before a cart eventually took him back to the locker room for further examination.

After signing with the Panthers during free agency in March, Burris played nearly every defensive snap until he suffered the injury on Sunday. He's recorded 24 total tackles, two for loss, two passes defensed, and an interception in 2020.

Kirkwood had just been activated off IR for Sunday's game but will now head back to the list after re-injuring his left clavicle. He originally suffered the injury during training camp and it kept him out for the season's first five games. Kirkwood played 35 offensive snaps against the Bears, making one reception for 13 yards.

Both Burris and Kirkwood will be out for at least the next three weeks.

With three slots on the 53-man roster open, the Panthers filled two of them by signing safety Kenny Robinson and offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg off their own practice squad.

Robinson was Carolina's fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after playing college ball at West Virginia and appearing in the XFL with the St. Louis BattleHawks. Tecklenburg played at Baylor under head coach Matt Rhule, signing with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in April.

Carolina filled out its practice squad with four players: cornerback Josh Hawkins, defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk, defensive end Greg Roberts, and running back Michael Warren.

This is Hawkins' second stint with the Panthers. He was a part of the club's practice squad and active roster in 2018 but never appeared in a game. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016, he's spent time with the Packers, Panthers, Chiefs, Eagles, and Falcons.

Panasiuk is an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State who spent time with the Raiders this offseason.

Roberts played under Rhule at Baylor before signing with the Packers as an undrafted free agent last year. He didn't appear in a game after spending the 2019 season on the physically unable to perform list. He did not appear in a game in 2020 either before Green Bay cut him from its practice squad in September.

Warren was with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati in the spring. Philadelphia cut him from its practice squad last month.