The injury pile is growing fast for the Panthers, and two more starters joined the list on Friday at training camp.
Right guard Robert Hunt and cornerback Mike Jackson both missed full participation in Carolina’s second practice of camp, with head coach Dave Canales saying each is dealing with back tightness. Hunt felt it after Thursday’s session, while Jackson became the latest defender to run into a setback.
“So we're treating him, we're gonna get him evaluated,” Canales said of Hunt. “Just trying to get full imaging, just making sure there's nothing in there.
“These types of things pop up early in camp. We're used to this.
League-wide, this is a common thing. So we gotta make sure we get him healthy before we get him back out there.”
Canales gave a similar update on Jackson.
“Same thing. We're treating him,” Canales added of the ascending corner.
“It's kind of a chain. If your back starts to tighten up while the rest of your soft tissue, your hamstrings, quad, flexor-everything else starts to tighten up.
So it's imperative we get all of that settled down before we throw them back out there to do things.”
The Panthers are already operating without their starting offensive tackles, Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton. Ekwonu is dealing with a knee injury, while Moton has a blood clot, and both are expected to miss time into the regular season. In their place, veteran free-agent addition Rasheed Walker and 2026 first-round pick Monroe Freeling are set to line up on the edges.
Jackson’s issue adds to a defense that has been hit hard in a hurry. Thursday brought the season-ending ACL tear for starting outside linebacker Nic Scourton, and the Panthers are also without defensive linemen Tershawn Wharton, who has a neck injury, and Bobby Brown III, who is dealing with a hamstring. Starting cornerback Jaycee Horn is also sidelined with a toe injury.
Canales said Hunt and Jackson will both go through full imaging to figure out how serious the injuries are.
In Other News...
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The Panthers had already spent part of the week talking about the future of their home, with David Tepper and Roger Goodell announcing a 20-year extension of the Bank of America naming-rights deal alongside the $1.3 billion stadium renovation that is expected to run through 2030. Goodell even raised the possibility of Charlotte becoming a future Super Bowl or NFL Draft host once the building work is done, a reminder that the franchise is trying to think big while its current roster is still taking shape.
Training camp, though, has been a much harsher reality check. Carolina opened practice with another key defender sidelined, and the injury pileup has already pushed more responsibility onto recent additions such as AJ Dillon, Luke Fortner and Monroe Freeling. With Jaycee Horn also missing time and Taylor Moton on reserve/non-football injury, the Panthers are suddenly asking a lot from the depth they added to stabilize the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Already Face A Camp Depth Issue After Another Roster Shakeup
Training camp has already turned into a churn point for Carolina, with the Panthers making six roster moves as they try to keep enough bodies in place to get through practice. The latest wave brought in defensive linemen Elijah Garcia and Kyon Barrs along with defensive back DeCarlos Nicholson, while offensive tackle Derrell Bailey, linebacker Jared Bartlett and defensive back Mike Reid were waived to make room.
Carolina also claimed offensive tackle Ryan Hayes off waivers and moved on from undrafted wide receiver Kobe Prentice, another sign the depth chart is still being adjusted on the fly. The timing matters because the Panthers are already dealing with a pileup of injuries on defense, and the camp roster keeps changing as they try to protect themselves against further attrition. [Read more 🡒]