CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers and New York Jets came together for a joint practice Thursday, when there was an injury scare, a big hit and some near fisticuffs.
And that was just one play.
The two teams — practicing together for the second year in a row — managed to avoid any of the major brouhahas that have broken out elsewhere. And running back Chuba Hubbard appears to have avoided a major injury on the hit by safety Chuck Clark on the play that brought players from both huddles into a scrum.
But cooler heads prevailed. And after the two-hour practice, Clark dapped up Hubbard and Panthers coach Dave Canales delivered positive injury news. The first-year coach said initial tests on Hubbard’s knee were “very positive,” but the team would continue to evaluate the player who rushed for more than 900 yards in 2023.
Clark’s hit drew a flag, but Canales said it wasn’t a dirty play. Hubbard lost his footing a bit before getting hit, and Canales believes the slip was what caused the issue.
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Canales was more upset with wide receiver Terrace Marshall, who was both the Panthers’ best player Thursday and — in Canales’ view — their most vexing.
Ten things we learned during the Panthers’ first and only joint practice of the summer, which also was their final training camp session:
1. Marshall came to play: The second-round pick from 2021 remains on the roster bubble. But Marshall took a big step with a pair of touchdown catches from Bryce Young during red zone drills. Marshall’s second TD was his most impressive: He went up on a fade to take the ball away from cornerback D.J. Reed, then maintained possession while going to the ground. But what happened next is what everyone was talking about.
2. Marshall came with swag: Marshall celebrated his score by tossing the ball at Reed, which did not sit well with him or his Jets teammates. While players started pushing and yelling, Reed picked up the ball and fired it toward Marshall. Was it “dumb football,” as Canales called it? Sure. But that sort of swagger often comes with the position. And had the incident involved a star wideout instead of a marginal guy, Canales might not have reacted as strongly. Still, give Marshall credit for taking his medicine. He told media members he wouldn’t have celebrated like that in a game and doesn’t want to hurt the team.
Terrace Marshall, on his ball flip at DJ Reed, said he wouldn’t hurt his team in a game. pic.twitter.com/YtbxendiZv
— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 15, 2024
3. Calling a certain veteran corner? Just when it seemed like the Panthers were content to roll with cornerback Dane Jackson at the spot opposite Jaycee Horn, Jackson sustained a significant hamstring injury that will sideline the former Bills CB “six-ish weeks,” according to Canales. That would put Jackson back around Week 4 — and it likely puts the Panthers in the corner market. They’ve had previous talks with free-agent Stephon Gilmore, though it’s unclear what the recent engagement has been. The 33-year-old Gilmore, with more than $109 million in career earnings, is likely at the point in his career where he wants to play for a contender or close to home. The Panthers can offer the latter to Gilmore, a Rock Hill, S.C., native who played for Carolina in 2021 and lives in Charlotte. With a rebuilding team and limited cap space ($6.4 million, according to Over the Cap), the Panthers aren’t going to break the bank on Gilmore — or any free agents.
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4. Good and bad from a CB already on the roster: D’Shawn Jamison gave up a big play early in the Patriots’ exhibition but bounced back with a couple of nice plays later. It was the inverse Thursday for the former Texas defensive back, whose first-team reps increased with Jackson out and Horn on a rep count. Jamison picked off third-string QB Andrew Peasley in seven-on-sevens, but committed a pass interference penalty during a two-minute drill on a 60-yard pass by Aaron Rodgers that Garrett Wilson was not going to catch.
5. Robert Hunt is a big man who is good at football: The Panthers gave the 6-6, 335-pound Hunt five years and $100 million to help clean up the interior passing lanes that were clogged for most of Young’s rookie season. Hunt, the former Dolphin, looked stout in locking out his arms and winning his one-on-one, pass-blocking reps against the Jets.
6. Robert Hunt is also a dog/dawg: Remember when that term was in vogue when general manager Dan Morgan said he was looking for more of them? It doesn’t have to look like a guy foaming at the mouth to make special teams tackles. It can also look like this: A player — Hunt, in this case — leaving practice on a cart with a possible knee injury, then returning to the practice field. Hunt didn’t participate in any more team drills, but his presence was felt. “That’s the message for the team — what can you practice with? What can you play with? Let’s do that. Let’s push the envelope there,” Canales said. “He sends a message as a veteran guy to say, ‘I’m OK.’ Talking to (him) and making sure we’re all being really smart about (the injury). And say, ‘I’m good. I’m ready to go.’”
Good start to the practice for Robert Hunt. Against the Jets. Not his teammate as shown here. pic.twitter.com/7kVuLWqfLJ
— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 15, 2024
7. That interior depth was tested: Toward the end of practice, the Panthers were without three of their top four guards as Hunt, Damien Lewis and Chandler Zavala (hamstring) were sidelined. Lewis is working on getting his conditioning back after missing a couple of days for a personal matter. Luckily, the Panthers have their Swiss Army knife in Brady Christensen, who is the backup tackle, backup guard and emergency center.
8. Bryce not fading away: A day after getting intercepted twice, Young was on point against the Jets, particularly on fade routes. Canales and his staff have made those a point of emphasis, painting squares in the corners of the end zone to drill in the fact that hooking up on fade routes does nobody any good if the receiver ends up out of bounds. It was a standout performance by Young — and an important one considering that he may not play in any preseason games. (Canales remained noncommittal on whether starters would play Saturday against the Jets.) As for Young’s day against the Jets, Canales said: “He was sharp. He was getting us in and out of the huddle. He’s accurate. It just shows that that’s Bryce. He loves it when he gets challenged and the stakes rise, that’s him. He’s stays in his game and continues to be accurate.”
Deep ball dialed up pic.twitter.com/viStIJPcTV
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 15, 2024
9. Lots of soft-tissue injuries: In addition to Jackson, the Panthers’ secondary took another hit with the news that starting safety Xavier Woods will miss a couple of weeks with a groin injury. Wideout Diontae Johnson also sat Thursday with what Canales called a minor groin issue. The former Steeler is day to day. Other players dealing with soft-tissue issues are Zavala and rookie linebacker Kenny Dyson (groin). The NFLPA wants to eliminate OTAs and lengthen training camps in part to reduce soft-tissue injuries, which they believe are more prevalent after players’ six-week summer break.
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10. One of the takeaways was, well, the takeaways: The Panthers were last in the NFL last season with 11 takeaways (after finishing near the bottom of the league in that category in 2021 and ’22, as well). It didn’t help that the Panthers never played with a fourth-quarter lead last season, which meant pass rushers never got to go after quarterbacks who were throwing every play to catch up. Still, they need to be better forcing turnovers. They were Thursday, picking off Aaron Rodgers twice in team drills and recovering a fumble. Safety Alex Cook and rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace, the third-round pick from Kentucky, had the interceptions on Rodgers, the future Hall of Famer. Though Rodgers led a touchdown drive during two-minute (aided by the big PI penalty mentioned earlier), Horn said it as a good learning experience facing the former Packers great. “He’s the best of the best, the top of the top. He threw a couple no-look passes today. He’s just real precise,” Horn said. “It showed us what we’d see if we do get to the playoffs and see some of these big-time quarterbacks. We play the Chiefs this year and get to see (Patrick) Mahomes.”
(Photo of Terrace Marshall and D.J. Reed: Carolina Panthers)
