The Panthers are down to one more preseason test, and it comes with a built-in wrinkle: Friday’s finale against the Texans lands just 48 hours before the NFL’s roster cut deadline. That timing makes this game bigger than a typical August tune-up, especially for players fighting to stay on the 53-man roster.
That also puts Bryce Young and Carolina’s starters in an interesting spot. On one hand, caution makes sense in the preseason.
Getting everyone healthy for Week 1 matters most. On the other, the Panthers could use a few more live reps before opening the year against the Chicago Bears.
Under Dave Canales, Carolina has had trouble getting rolling early. The Panthers have opened 0-2 in each of the last two seasons, and another sluggish start would be a problem they can’t afford to repeat. If the offense needs a little more time to find its rhythm, that’s another reason to consider giving the starters a bit more work on Friday.
It doesn’t need to be a heavy workload. So far, the starters who have played have usually gotten around two series before calling it a night. Something in the range of three or four drives would make sense with the season now just over two weeks away.
There is at least reason to feel better about the offense after what happened against Jacksonville. Young and the unit looked far more comfortable in that game than they did at Buffalo, and the second drive stood out as the best Young has looked this preseason. He connected with Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, and the Panthers drove all the way to the one-yard line before Jonathon Brooks finished it with a touchdown.
The bigger concern has been the secondary. That was especially true in Buffalo, where Josh Allen and the Bills picked apart Carolina with chunk gains and easy completions down the middle of the field. Allen finished 6-of-8 for 111 yards and a touchdown in just two drives, and the Panthers’ defense looked overwhelmed.
The performance against Jacksonville was better, but that came against an offense that was also using all of its starters.
So whether Houston plays its starters or not, a few more series on both sides of the ball would give Carolina something useful to work with before the regular season begins.
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And the battle may not be finished when the preseason ends. Carolina could still look to the veteran market before the Aug. 30 roster cutdown deadline, with names like Bobby Wagner, Kenneth Murray and Bobby Okereke out there if the Panthers decide they want more certainty in the middle of the defense. For now, the job picture remains fluid, and that leaves a pretty important spot on the roster very much in play. [Read more 🡒]