Jaycee Horn involved in car crash, will miss Wednesday's practice after medical evaluation

Jaycee Horn will miss practice on Wednesday due to being involved in a car crash on his way to work, the Panthers announced. Carolina is scheduled for a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns, but the star defensive back won’t be on the field.

According to the franchise, Horn was alone in his car for the incident. It occurred at the corner of Mint and Morehead Streets. No one involved in the incident was transported by emergency medical personnel, which is a solid sign, and the former first-rounder has been evaluated by team medical personnel.

Hopefully there’s no lingering effects of the incident for Horn, as he prepares for a landmark season with the Panthers. Earlier this offseason, the franchise signed him to a historic, market-changing number.

The former South Carolina star inked a four-year deal worth a total of $100 million, with $70 million of that guaranteed. The contract has a maximum value of up to $108 million. With that, Horn became the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.

Moreover, the $25 million per year is highest now among defensive backs in the NFL. This contract also put Horn just behind Denzel Ward in total value, but ahead of a collection that consists of names like Marshon Lattimore, Marlon Humphrey, Trevon Diggs, and Patrick Surtain II.

It’s well deserved. Horn has appeared in 37 starts the past four seasons in Charlotte. In that time, he has posted 153 tackles, 26 deflections, and five interceptions plus a pair of sacks.

That includes this past season for the Panthers where Horn, who played the most games of his career so far, had career-highs with 68 tackles, 13 deflections, and both of his sacks to go with one pick in 15 starts. That earned him a spot as a Pro Bowler for the first time for the NFC.

He’s been a home-run pick for Carolina, as Horn was a top selection by the Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft. They selected him eighth overall as the top corner off the board to keep him in the region after a three-year college career at South Carolina. His selection made him one of the highest-selected players in school history.

Even with that, though, the Panthers have had some of the league’s worst defenses in that time, specifically last season. They were in last place in both points and yards allowed last season at 31.4 points given up per game and 404.5 yards allowed. Yards allowed has been better in two of the four years, but points allowed has yet to be in the top half over that time in the NFL.

All told, Jaycee Horn just had his best season as a pro and got paid like it with this contract over the offseason. He’ll now have to live up to it starting this season, and hopefully he’s at 100% to do so.

— On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.