Rain didn’t slow the Panthers down on Sunday. After a walkthrough on Saturday, Carolina got back on the practice field and the offense found its rhythm, even with the weather hanging around.
The biggest positive came in the injury department. Head coach Dave Canales sounded upbeat about right guard Robert Hunt and cornerback Mike Jackson, who both sat out a second straight practice because of back tightness.
"All good stuff," Canales told reporters of their progress after the session. "Rob's trending in the right direction, and he should be back pretty quickly.
Mike, too. Mike had a really good day running out there.
They were able to treat him up, and didn't look like anything significant.
"'Camp back' is what they call it. You get in, it's the first time you're competing, you're going against each other.
And fortunately for us, we have this bonus week. With the Hall of Fame game, where a lot of the things that end up popping up early in on camp happening's for us about a week earlier.
So we can get ahead of it, we can get a treatment plan and then we can dose 'em the right way and get 'em out there."
Rookie wide receiver Chris Brazzell II was also working off to the side with a knee injury, though Canales did not sound alarmed about the issue.
"Just something that we're being aware of, and we're gonna get him some treatment and get him out there as soon as possible," he added.
On the field, Xavier Legette was the name that stood out. The third-year receiver gave Carolina’s offense a needed jolt after the defense had been the side getting the better of the first two practices.
"Just a great carryover from the spring," Canales said of Legette. "At this point now, X knows the system.
That's the cool part. As we bring free agents, as we bring rookies in-they see X-and he knows how to do it all.
"He looks fast, he looks powerful. He's having a great camp so far, as we get started. And I'm excited to see where he goes from here."
Legette is trying to build off a rough second season, when his production and playing time both dropped after he was taken in the first round in 2024. With the receiver group growing, he needs this strong stretch to keep carving out his place.
Another receiver making noise was Ja'seem Reed. Canales praised the second-year pass catcher for the kind of steady work that earns trust.
"He's consistent," Canales stated. "He knows the concepts, he's a really smart guy-and he's been that way since we got him.
A guy we have a lot of trust in. And then, he just keeps making plays."
Reed entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and spent his rookie year on the Panthers' practice squad. Before that, he was the Pioneer Football League's Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 at the University of San Diego, where he caught 77 passes for 1,052 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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Phillips move to Charlotte also says plenty about how the Panthers sold the opportunity, not just the money. He pointed to the contract as a major factor in choosing Carolina, and the teams willingness to make him one of the biggest investments of the free-agent cycle shows how urgent the need felt. The question now is whether the Panthers finally have the kind of rusher who can turn a glaring weakness into something much harder for opponents to plan around. [Read more 🡒]