The Carolina Panthers’ final workout of 2026 training camp turned into a rough morning against a Texans defense that had answers for just about everything.
In a joint practice Wednesday with Houston, Carolina’s starting offense got squeezed by a unit that finished 2025 as the NFL’s top overall defense. The Texans were disruptive from the jump, racking up seven would-be sacks, with Pro Bowl pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson leading the charge. Bryce Young also had a tough time protecting the ball, throwing two interceptions to safety Calen Bullock.
Panthers coach Dave Canales didn’t sugarcoat what happened.
"Yeah, it was pretty lopsided today, I'll be honest," Canales told reporters after practice. "I would say that-in general, over camp-I'm very excited about where we're at as an offense in our scheme, the variation in the run game, the actions tied into that, the drop-back pass game, Bryce's rhythm with a lot of our guys.
"Today did not show that. Today, there was a couple of flashes of some nice throws and catches, but that was a good group today. Again, I try not to just take it all in a microcosm-but if we wanna be good, we have to be able to play against teams like this."
One of the biggest pressure points for Carolina was right tackle Monroe Freeling, who found himself dealing with Hunter and Anderson throughout the session. Canales said that kind of challenge is exactly what the rookie needs.
"Oh, it's fantastic," he said of Freeling facing Hunter and Anderson. "This is what Monroe needs. As he works his fundamentals, his technique, all the little different things-it just gets magnified when you play two rushers like this."
Canales said Freeling’s work now shifts to the film room and the correction phase.
"It's just right to the film," he later stated. "And it's good, and bad. As I talked to the group afterwards, these are such valuable opportunities-to be able to go against a new group with a different skill set, to be able to see those things.
"He'll go right into the film right now with Coach [Joe] Gilbert and the o-line, and they'll work on those things, clean it up and we'll go from there."
There won’t be another look at the starters on Friday, either. Canales and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans agreed not to use their first teams in the preseason finale, since Wednesday’s joint practice already gave those players plenty of work.
"Decided the amount of work we were gonna get them-this practice really got the starters a ton of reps," he said.
"They took about 75 percent of the snaps, with the twos and threes kinda getting a little bit of work-just to make sure their bodies are moving and they're in the rhythm of it. But those guys will finish it out for us, and a great opportunity for them to compete and show us what they got."
Carolina’s first-team offense closed its preseason with a seven-play, 58-yard touchdown drive in last Friday’s 34-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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