CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers could be without starting wide receiver DJ Chark for Thursday night's game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Chark, who is dealing with an elbow injury, is listed as doubtful for the 8:15 p.m. ET game.
Chark is the best deep threat for rookie quarterback Bryce Young. He had scored his third touchdown of the season against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Panthers will be without two defensive starters against the Bears as sack leader Brian Burns and cornerback CJ Henderson have been ruled out with concussions suffered in Sunday's 27-13 loss to the Colts.
Tight end Stephen Sullivan (shoulder) and wide receiver/running back Laviska Shenault (ankle) also were ruled out after Wednesday's walk-through practice.
It's not all bad news for the 1-7 Panthers. Starting safeties Vonn Bell (quadriceps) and Xavier Woods (thigh) are listed as questionable. Bell was a full participant Wednesday, and Woods indicated Tuesday he was trending toward playing.
Outside linebacker Marquis Haynes Sr. (back), who was designated for a return from injured reserve earlier this week, also was a full participant Wednesday and has a chance to play.
Replacing Burns will be Carolina's toughest task. The two-time Pro Bowl selection leads the team in sacks with five and quarterback hits with 10.
The Panthers already were down the two players -- Yetur Gross-Matos and Justin Houston -- who played opposite Burns. Both are on injured reserve.
"We're not going to make any excuses,'' defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. "We have more than what we need to play well. We've got a lot of good, young players. The coaches have done a great job of not just coaching the starters, but really pouring into the entire depth of the roster.
"You can't control these things, and nobody's going to care, so we've just got to make it work.''
