Second-year Redskins linebacker Houston Bates suffered a torn ACL in the first half of Monday's game against the Panthers. He has seven defensive tackles and seven special teams tackles this season.

Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden announced on Tuesday on his conference call with local media that second-year linebacker Houston Bates suffered a torn ACL against the Carolina Panthers.

Bates appeared on six special teams snaps before being removed from the game. The 25-year-old told Redskins.com after the game that it is the first knee injury he's suffered during his career.

While Bates appears only sparingly on defense – he has seven tackles this season – he has become a special teams mainstay this season, appearing on 292 special teams snaps this season. That is the most among the Redskins this year.

He collected seven special teams tackles.

Bates' loss is another among players who have become leaders on that unit, as Niles Paul, Kedric Golston and Anthony Lanier have been placed on Injured Reserve throughout the season with their respective injuries.

With Bates sidelined, the Redskins currently have three outside linebackers who are on the active roster outside of the Louisiana Tech product in Ryan Kerrigan, Preston Smith and Trent Murphy.

Kerrigan – who is currently dealing with an elbow sprain – leads the Redskins in sacks with 11, while Murphy has already produced a career-high eight sacks through 14 games.

Smith, meanwhile, has 34 tackles during his second NFL season with four sacks.

Gruden also announced that Quinton Dunbar remains in concussion protocol while linebackers Su'a Cravens (elbow) and Will Compton (knee) are "day-to-day." Both were inactive against the Panthers.