Mike McCarn/Associated Press

The Carolina Panthers will be down a defensive end as they enter the regular season after Frank Alexander tore his Achilles Saturday night, per Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer.

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Panthers See Second Major Injury in Less Than a Week

Saturday, Aug. 22

Jonathan Jones added Alexander was in visible anguish after leaving the playing field. Eventually, he was "carted" back to the locker room, per Steve Reed of the Associated Press.

The Panthers later confirmed Alexander would be unable to return to the game.

This comes only a few days after Kelvin Benjamin was ruled out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, leaving Carolina down two key players before the preseason is even over.

Alexander only appeared in one regular-season game last year after getting suspended a combined 14 games for violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

The Panthers likely penciled in Alexander as their starter at right defensive end this offseason, but now Kony Ealy will see a major uptick in playing time. Although Ealy didn't have a great rookie season, Carolina selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft for a reason. Perhaps he'll flourish with a larger role in 2015.

Alexander is an unrestricted free agent in 2016, and potential suitors won't covet a player who's missed the majority of the last two seasons through injury and suspension.