By RICHARD WALKER Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers scrimmaged in front of approximately 40,000 fans at Bank of America Stadium on Friday night in their first appearance on their home turf since losing in the opening round of last season’s playoffs.
Injuries continue to be the story of the team’s training camp with three other players kept out of the action.
Tight end Tommy Tremble, defensive tackle Derrick Brown and linebacker Devin Lloyd all sat out.
Coach Dave Canales said after the scrimmage that Tremble had “general soreness” in his right knee on which he wore a sleeve on Friday night, and Brown and Lloyd were taking their regularly scheduled “veteran days.”
With starting offensive tackle Taylor Moton (blood clot) not participating in training camp and out of action until the regular season, linebacker Nic Scourton and wide receiver Chris Brazzell suffering season-ending knee injuries in the first week of training camp and tight end Mitchell Evans (ankle) carted off the practice field, injuries are a concern.
Canales admitted as much about the tight end group that even led to a signing.
With Brazzell being placed on injured reserve, the Panthers signed free agent tight end Chamon Metayer. A 6-foot-4, 262-pound rookie, Metayer had been in Pittsburgh’s training camp after playing collegiately at Cincinnati, Colorado and Arizona State.
Due to injuries to two tight ends, Canales said the team chose not to sign a fourth quarterback in favor or fortifying the tight end position.
“We really felt like that’s a group where the reps could really build up on and we wanted to bring another person in,” said Canales, who said Evans could return to practice “in a couple of days.”
The other tight ends on the roster are Ja’Tavion Sanders, Felipe Franks, James Mitchell and Caden Prieskorn.
In his third year as head coach, Canales guided Carolina last season to an 8-9 regular-season record, an NFC South divisional title and the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2017. The Panthers are seeking to win back-to-back divisional titles for the first time since they won three straight from 2013 to 2015.
Carolina opens its four-game preseason slate next Thursday at 8 p.m. in the annual NFL Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. The Panthers open their 17-game regular season schedule on Sept. 13 at home against the Chicago Bears.
Canales also said the team, which originally hoped Brazzell would return later this season, decided on season-ending surgery after much consultation.
“Just gathering all of the information and going through our normal process and making sure we get all eyes on it,” Canales said of the decision on Brazzell, a third-round draft pick out of Tennessee. “We have great people in the building and we also have great people around the league and specialists.
“We wanted to make sure we did the right thing for Chris longterm.”
___