Devin Funchess Injury: Panthers WR Placed on IR with Injured Knee

Carolina Panthers wideout Devin Funchess was placed on injured reserve on Thursday, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times and Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer.

Funchess, 22, who injured his knee, has never quite lived up to expectations after being a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft. 

He was expected to be the team's top option at wide receiver last season after Kelvin Benjamin was lost for the year with a torn ACL during training camp. Ted Ginn Jr. somewhat surprisingly seemed to become Cam Newton's top option out wide early in the year and Corey Brown was a popular target for Newton, while Funchess never really emerged as a top option.

Filling Benjamin's shoes was always going to be a tall task, of course, as Benjamin lit up the NFL in his rookie season, catching 73 passes for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns.

Funchess finished the 2015 regular season with 31 receptions for 473 yards and five touchdowns. He added five receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown in three postseason games.

He hasn't shown a significant level of development this year, however, catching just 23 passes for 371 yards and four scores.

Like Benjamin, Funchess has good size (6'4" and 232 pounds), though he could easily pass for a tight end and doesn't possess top-end speed. Still, he was expected to be a solid option for the team in the red zone, which took time to materialize.

Now, quarterback Cam Newton will have to rely even more heavily on Benjamin, trusty tight end Greg Olsen and both Ginn and Brown in Week 17. And the Panthers will continue to lean on the running game, led by the dynamic Newton and Jonathan Stewart.