The Carolina Panthers got a scare at training camp practice on Tuesday when tight end Mitchell Evans was carted off the field with an ankle injury.
After practice, head coach Dave Canales said Evans got rolled up on and that the early read on the injury is encouraging.
"They (the medical staff) are pretty optimistic," Canales said. "But we're going to do a full evaluation just to make sure there's nothing happening in there. ... I'll give you more information as we do the full evaluation."
That was a welcome update for Carolina, which already lost linebacker Nic Scourton last week to a torn ACL that will sideline him for the 2026 season. The Panthers appear to have avoided another major setback with Evans.
Evans, a 2025 NFL Draft pick taken 163rd overall, played last season for Carolina and finished with 19 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
The injury scare comes as the Panthers try to build on a 2025 season that ended with an NFC South title, even though they finished below .500 and needed help in Week 18 to get there. Dave Canales and his team will have plenty to prove in 2026, especially with a schedule that includes the Bears, Falcons, Browns, Lions, Eagles, Buccaneers, Packers, Broncos, Saints, Ravens, Vikings, Bengals, Steelers and Seahawks.
Bryce Young is again central to that conversation. Last season, he threw for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while adding 216 rushing yards and two rushing scores, leading the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
The first overall pick in the 2023 draft now has 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in a Panthers uniform.
Young is set to make $12.1 million next season in the fourth year of his rookie deal, and his fifth-year option is worth a guaranteed $25.9 million.
For now, the bigger picture around Young remains unsettled. Most NFL insiders do not expect Carolina to work out an extension with him this offseason, with his inconsistency still a major question. He’ll need another strong season to change that.
In Other News...
Panthers Just Made A Telling Move In Their Thin Receiver Room
Carolina added another body to a receiver group that has been thinned out in training camp, signing Casey Washington and bringing the former Falcons wideout onto the 90-man roster. Washington arrives after two seasons in Atlanta, where he got into 15 games and caught seven passes for 108 yards, and now gets a fresh chance in a room that needs players who can stay on the field and keep reps moving.
The move came with a corresponding roster shuffle as Dan Chisena was placed on injured reserve, underscoring how quickly the depth chart can change this time of year. Washington also lands in a familiar corner of the NFC South after his release earlier this offseason, and for the Panthers the immediate question is less about pedigree than whether he can carve out a role before the roster gets even tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Fans Had Every Reason To Fear This Mitchell Evans Update
Training camp has already delivered one brutal reminder of how quickly a roster can change, with EDGE Nic Scourton going down with a torn ACL and getting carted off the field. So when Mitchell Evans was helped off after his own injury, it was easy to understand why Panthers fans braced for another worst-case update, especially with the tight end group still trying to establish itself as a real strength.
Instead, Carolina got a far better outcome than the initial scare suggested, and that matters because Evans has become a quietly important piece of the offense. Even without eye-popping production last season, his combination of size, blocking and dependable hands gives the Panthers a different kind of value at a position that has been thin for years, which is why any absence there feels bigger than the box score would indicate. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Face A Bigger Question About Bryce Youngs Next Step
Bryce Youngs 2025 season gave the Panthers something they had been searching for: a real step forward at quarterback. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the overall arc of his year suggested a player settling in rather than merely surviving. Still, the tape and the numbers together pointed to a broader issue around him, because too many throws that should have been routine completions never got finished.
The receiving group did its part in creating that problem, with Tetairoa McMillan tied to eight drops as Carolina worked through a season full of missed chances and injury-related shuffling. For a team trying to build on Youngs progress, the next step is not just about the quarterback continuing to grow. It is about whether the Panthers can clean up the support around him well enough to turn those gains into something more durable next season. [Read more 🡒]