The Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars barely made it through the opening moments of their joint practice Wednesday morning before tempers flared.
Things turned chippy on the very first play of a team period, when the two sides came together in the middle of the field in a pushing-and-shoving scuffle that was caught on video. It wasn’t clear what kicked it off, but the tone was set immediately.
Not long after that, another skirmish broke out following a big hit by Panthers safety Tre'Von Moehrig on Jaguars wide receiver Tim Jones. “Another skirmish!
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence throws a drag route to WR Tim Jones... who proceeds to get lit up by Panthers safety Tre Moehrig,” Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer said. “Jones lingers on the ground for a while as others push and shove.”
There were more scuffles beyond those two, according to other reports, making it a pretty heated session overall. Even so, it doesn’t appear any punches were thrown, so this one stayed on the tamer side of the usual joint-practice chaos.
That stands in sharp contrast to Tuesday’s Dallas Cowboys-New Orleans Saints joint practice, which turned into a full-blown scrap session with around 10 fights and several punches thrown.
The Panthers and Jaguars are back at it just two days before they meet in preseason Week 2 in Duval on Friday night. Carolina is trying to respond after last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, while Jacksonville comes in off a preseason-opening win over the Saints.
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That makes his spot a tricky one to judge, because the Panthers are weighing immediate roster math against the risk of letting a useful player get away before he has a chance to prove it. If they move on now, it would be easy to see how the decision could be revisited later if his development continues and another team is willing to bet on the same upside Carolina is trying to measure. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face A Risky QB Debate Behind Bryce Young
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But the case against making a move is pretty straightforward: the Panthers already have bodies behind Young, including Haynes King and Kenny Pickett, and there is enough uncertainty around the starters long-term setup without adding another layer to it. For now, the smarter play looks like patience, keeping the current quarterback group intact until Carolina has a clearer reason to change course. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have One More Pass Rush Situation To Watch
The Panthers spent the offseason trying to give their pass rush a clearer shape, signing Jaelan Phillips to a four-year contract with the idea of pairing him with Nic Scourton. Instead, Scourtons torn ACL changed the picture before the regular season even arrived, leaving Carolina with another question mark in a spot that already needed reinforcement.
Josh Sweats name has entered the conversation as the kind of player who could fit what Carolina is looking for, especially with the Cardinals sitting on a veteran edge option. But Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort has already said there is no interest in moving him, which leaves the Panthers monitoring a situation that could matter to their defense without offering any easy answers yet. [Read more 🡒]
