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Darren Waller injury: status, history and who gets his targets if he is out

Carolina Panthers · Tight end · status this week: not on the week 7 injury report (week 7 report, captured Wed 21 Oct, 6:15am)

Checked Oct 21, 2026.

Over his 8 full seasons on record, Darren Waller played 89 of 132 regular-season games (67%), and 5 of 5 so far in 2026. Season by season.

The Carolina Panthers room absorbs +2.94 receptions, and Mitchell Evans takes the largest single share at +0.89. The work stays overwhelmingly inside the tight end room.

Where the work goes

Change in projected receptions for every other player in the offense. The bars are small on purpose — a vacated role is shared out, and any tool showing one replacement absorbing a whole target load is telling you something the data does not support.

Receptions gained if Darren Waller sitsMitchell Evans+0.9TE 50% snapsTommy Tremble+0.8TE 56% snapsFeleipe Franks+0.7TE 6% snapsTetairoa McMillan+0.1WR 85% snapsJalen Coker+0.1WR 62% snapsXavier Legette+0.1WR 50% snapsJohn Metchie III+0.1WR 34% snapsBrycen Tremayne+0.1WR 55% snapsDavid Moore+0.1WR 3% snapsJa'Seem Reed+0.1WR 13% snapschange in projected receptions

Every player in the room

PlayerCatches nowIf he sitsChange
Darren Waller TE · 48% snaps2.70—OUT
Tetairoa McMillan WR · 85% snaps4.904.97+0.07
Jalen Coker WR · 62% snaps4.004.07+0.07
Tommy Tremble TE · 56% snaps2.503.35+0.85
Chuba Hubbard RB · 82% snaps2.202.20+0.00
Xavier Legette WR · 50% snaps2.002.07+0.07
John Metchie III WR · 34% snaps1.501.57+0.07
Mitchell Evans TE · 50% snaps1.402.29+0.89
Brycen Tremayne WR · 55% snaps1.201.27+0.07
Jonathon Brooks RB · 30% snaps1.101.10+0.00
AJ Dillon RB · 12% snaps0.600.60+0.00
David Moore WR · 3% snaps0.600.67+0.07
Ja'Seem Reed WR · 13% snaps0.500.57+0.07
Feleipe Franks TE · 6% snaps0.100.81+0.71

Injury history

Over his 8 full seasons on record, Darren Waller played 89 of 132 regular-season games (67%), and 5 of 5 so far in 2026.

SeasonTeamPlayedMissedListed outQuestionableInjuries listed
2026CAR5 of 5000—
2025MIA9 of 17831Hip, Pectoral
2023NYG12 of 17514Hamstring, Groin
2022LV9 of 17812Hamstring
2021LV11 of 17622Knee, Ankle, Back
2020LV16 of 16001Knee
2019OAK16 of 16000—
2018OAK4 of 161200—
2016BAL12 of 16400—

Regular season only. Games played counts games with at least one offensive snap; designations are from the official weekly injury report, which does not list players on injured reserve, so a long absence shows as missed games rather than as weeks listed out.

What the data says happens

Measured across every regular-season game from 2018 onward, each beneficiary compared against his own trailing four-game form and net of what the same players do in weeks the room’s number one actually plays.

When a team’s number-one tight end does not play, what each position group gains:

RoomReceptions gainednt
Receivers+0.1072,1602.29
Tight ends+0.4921,0249.57
Backs-0.0451,259-0.92

The room total is predictable. Which player takes it is not. Every candidate predictor of who gains — pecking order, snap share, route depth, trailing targets — correlates at roughly r = 0.02. In any single week one player usually takes about 60% of what was vacated; it is simply not predictably the same one.

Darren Waller’s full stats and usageSnap share, target share, game log and this week’s projection

Cascade effects 2018–2026, paired within player, net of control · projections as-of-week with no lookahead · 2026 week 7