A day for Panthers QBs: Bryce Young, backups put on an aerial showcase in pads
The Carolina Panthers’ quarterback depth chart had itself a day in uptown Charlotte Wednesday.
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Quarterback Bryce Young was accurate, efficient and dynamic as he threw for a single-practice highlight reel that would rival his most recent visits to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. He unloaded a handful of stellar downfield strikes to his weapons, who didn’t let him down, despite the aerial acrobatics needed to make plays against tight coverage.
Young started his air attack with an impressive heave to wideout Xaiver Legette in the end zone during 11-on-11 work. It was a pinpoint strike in the back of the end zone as Legette — using both hands — snagged the ball in front of safety Nick Scott with his feet inbounds. The ball couldn’t have been placed any better.
Later, Young tossed a jump-ball to wideout Brycen Tremayne in the end zone with cornerback Corey Thornton boxing him out. Tremayne tested his vertical leaping ability and hauled in the ball for a touchdown.
Young also tossed a laser ball to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders near the sideline in 11-on-11 work. Despite safety Tre’von Moehrig being tight on Sanders’ hip, Young forced the ball to wear only the tight end could snag it. Sanders, who hasn’t had many highlight in camp so far, secured the ball one-handed as he fell to the ground for a completion.
The starting QB also had a pair of impressive passes to top receiver Tetairoa McMillan. He had a nice-timed toss to an intermediate route by McMillan with cornerback Mike Jackson draped on him in coverage. The pair ended practice with a touchdown off a deep toss from Young to McMillan with Jackson, again, in coverage.
“Bryce is just continuing to take the next steps,” head coach Dave Canales said. “What I see from Bryce right now is just ownership and mastery of the concepts. And now, I just see the timing, the rhythm, and just the me-to-you factor with his guys. And watching him throw anticipatory balls to (McMillan), to Jalen (Coker), to David Moore . . . I just see his level of comfort really showing up with the guys, and I’m just excited as we continue to build on that.”
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn noted after practice that the offense had its way with the defense through most of the second padded practice. Horn said the thing that stood out about Young was how he was able to use several different receivers to find success.
Young wasn’t the only passer to make the most of his reps. With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Kyle Trask in town for a workout, backups Kenny Pickett and Haynes King stood firm and made some highlight plays of their own.
Pickett had an early highlight in 11-on-11 drills, as he tossed a deep ball to training-camp standout Ja’seem Reed down the left sideline for a touchdown. Reed broke from coverage after some light contact and snagged the ball before picking up stride to pay dirt. Later, Pickett tossed a rainbow down the field to running back Jonathon Brooks, who made an excellent two-handed catch with Thornton trailing him.
“I’m really proud of how (the QBs) are handling the blitz pickup and pressures and having solutions,” Canales said. “All the way down, from Kenny to Haynes — whatever it might be, whatever the pressure might be, they have an answer. That goes with all the prep, all the meetings and bringing it alive on the field ultimately.”
King completed his first nine passes in team drills. He went 3-of-3 to begin 7-on-7 work and 6-of-6 to start 11-on-11 drills. He made a couple of impressive throws up the seam to tight end James Mitchell and Reed as well.
At one point, King and backup center Nick Samac had a bad exchange on a shotgun snap. But otherwise, King kept his composure and did a nice job of throwing on the run.
With Trask in town, the Panthers could end up housing four QBs again. Trask worked with the bulk of Canales’ offensive staff in Tampa Bay in 2022. Assistant head coach Harold Goodwin, offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik have all sat in meeting rooms with Trask as recently as three seasons ago.
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Trask spent the bulk of last season on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad. He’d essentially replace the recently retired Will Grier in the QB room.
“Kyle Trask is somebody that I love — got a chance to spend a year with him in Tampa,” Canales said. “And brought him in to work him out, see where he’s at physically, and you know, maybe it’s the Hall of Fame game (strategy), and on top of that, it’s just being ready for you don’t know — you never know what happens — but it’s good to have guys that just know the system to be ready and to be available. And I’m just glad to be able to spend a day with Kyle.”
Rookie wideout Chris Brazzell, the team’s third-round pick, left Wednesday’s workout with a left knee injury. Brazzell had missed the previous two workouts with what was described as “knee soreness.”
He returned on Wednesday but only lasted through two sessions of team drills. After a 7-on-7 rep midway through practice, Brazzell held his left knee and sat down on the ground. He was looked over by trainers before being assisted onto a cart to wheel him off the field. Before he got on the back of the cart, he struggled to put weight on his left leg.
“Same knee,” Canales said. “So, just something happened, he felt weird on it. Sat down. We took him in. We’ll get a full evaluation and get a full picture of that, and we’ll give you more information.”
The Athletic later reported that Brazzell sustained a moderate LCL tear in his left knee. A league source confirmed to The Charlotte Observer that he is expected to miss up to eight weeks.
There were also two other injury scares in practice that turned out to simply be blips in the workout.
Brooks, who is recovering from back-to-back ACL injuries, took a kick return rep midway through practice and seemingly tripped with his momentum taking him head-first into rookie linebacker Jackson Kuwatch’s ankles. Brooks took a moment to get up and Kuwatch, the team’s seventh-round pick, was helped off the field by trainers. The linebacker was looked at on the sideline for several minutes before walking off the pain and returning to drills.
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown was also slow to get up after a run play that saw him get taken off his feet. He exited for one rep before returning to the action.
Tight end Mitchell Evans, who was carted off the field Tuesday, returned to the grass in gym clothes. His left ankle was taped and Canales later said he sustained a low-ankle sprain. Evans observed practice and watched drills throughout the work.
Starting guards Rob Hunt (back) and Damien Lewis (calf) missed practice again on Wednesday. They were replaced (again) by Saahdiq Charles and Chandler Zavala, respectively.
Along with Evans, cornerback Robert Rochell (undisclosed) was a new absence. Wide receiver Dan Chisena (undisclosed) has been sidelined since Sunday.
Right tackle Taylor Moton (NFI – blood clot), left tackle Ickey Ekwonu (patellar – PUP), outside linebacker Nic Scourton (knee – IR), and defensive linemen Turk Wharton (neck – PUP) and Bobby Brown (hamstring – NFI) all attended practice. They all remain on their respective injury lists.
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