The Carolina Panthers will be without two key defensive players this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Defensive tackle Kawann Short (foot), rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (concussion) and offensive guard Dennis Daley (ankle) will all be out Sunday with injuries.
Short, a team captain, is the most notable of the three.
Short, a two-time Pro Bowler, is the longest-tenured defensive player on the Panthers roster and has been expected to create a tough presence up front on the defensive line alongside rookie Derrick Brown.
Short, who missed all but two games in 2019 with a torn rotator cuff, will still travel with the team to Tampa Bay and Rhule hopes to have him back for Week 3.
"His impact on this team is more than just going out and playing," Rhule said. "He's a voice that people listen to."
Related
After Carolina didn't have a single-sack last week for the first time since 2018, the loss of Short creates a big defensive hole with Tom Brady and the Bucs looking for a bounce-back win themselves.
"Him not being there will obviously be an impact. He's a starter and a premier player," Rhule said. "Him not playing will have an effect throughout the game but that's what this league is about. This league is about having a comprehensive total team and guys will step up."
Gross-Matos, the Panthers second-round draft pick, played in 25 percent of the team's defensive snaps in Week 1 and Rhule said earlier in the week he was expecting him to play more moving forward.
"Derrick Brown will step up, Zach Kerr will step up, Bravvion Roy will step up, Efe Obada can slide inside and give us lots of great reps and I think the guys around him will step up," Rhule said. "That's what this league is. It's about having a team that when a guy goes down, other guys step up around them and at that position."
Guard Michael Schofield will start in place of Daley at left guard for the second-straight week.