The Panthers had a productive day on the grid iron in their joint practice with the New York Jets, however, everything did not come up roses and a multitude of injuries occurred that created shreds of doubt at two positions in particular.
The Panthers began practice without starting cornerback Dane Jackson, and first-year head coach Dave Canales said it was significant and he could be out of commission for “six-weeks-ish.”
“Dane’s was a significant hamstring,” Canales said.
That difficult news came down the pipe as cornerback Jaycee Horn, who had dealt with injuries throughout the first three years of his career, was on a snap count Thursday, being cautious and reducing his work against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
They were also without the services of veteran safety Xavier Woods, and Canales noted the groin injury that limited him in recent days could put him on ice a “couple of weeks.”
“A little bit more serious than we thought,” Canales said.
Second-year defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has said he regards backup Nick Scott a starting-caliber safety, but the depth at the cornerback position is not as established.
When Horn was not on the field, the Panthers had Lamar Jackson and D’Shawn Jamison working with the starting defense alongside veteran nickel Troy Hill, with Dicaprio Bootle and Chau Smith-Wade getting lots of meaningful work as well. Jackson, Jamison, and Bootle are all returning players, while Smith-Wade was their fifth-round draft pick out of Washington State University.
Embed from Getty ImagesGuard Chandler Zavala exited the practice on a cart after sustaining a hamstring injury, and Canales said the early prognosis did not look good. Zavala was working with the starting line, as free agent pickup Damien Lewis was in uniform but limited after missing a few days for personal reasons. Zavala was among the five healthy linemen who finished last week’s preseason opener against the New England Patriots, and he played every snap.
With Zavala and Lewis unable to complete practice, former starter Brady Christensen filled in at left guard with the ones.
“So, we’re concerned about that one,” Canales said of Zavala. “It feels like it could be a little bit of a longer deal. And he was doing fantastic in this camp.”
The Panthers appeared to dodge a few bullets along the way and breathed a sigh of relief, as starting running back Chuba Hubbard went down after a big hit and was getting looked at due to a knee issue.
Canales said the early indications were all positive on Hubbard, who appeared to slip just before taking a huge shot from Jets safety Chuck Clark.
“We had big concerns there,” he said of his starting running back. “The initial testing looks pretty good, so they’re going to follow up, we’ll have more information on him then…
“It wasn’t a dirty hit; it was two guys faced up on each other. And his foot kind of gave out from underneath him. So, the initial testing was very positive, but we’re going to do all the follow-ups and make sure that he’s fully ready to go before we put him back out there.”
Right guard Robert Hunt left practice to get checked by the athletic training staff as well but later came back to finish practice, which was an encouraging sign to Canales.
“That’s the message for the team, right? What can you practice with? What can you play with?” Canales said. “Let’s do that. Let’s push the envelope there. It says something.
“He sends a message as a veteran guy to say, no, I’m ok.
Talking and making sure we’re all being really smart about it and then saying, I’m good; I’m ready to go. Knowing yourself, knowing who you are, getting back out there to take advantage of the work that we’re doing.”
Canales also mentioned that rookie Kenny Dyson (groin) sustained what could be an injury that could cause him to miss time.
Veteran wideout Diontae Johnson was out again with a groin injury that Canales termed “something mild,” and that outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney getting a day off was about looking after his long-term health.
