Panthers QB Young to Play in Preseason Finale – Better late than never. Bryce Young and the majority of the Carolina Panthers’ starters will take the field for the first time and see preseason action on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills in the dress rehearsal before the start of the regular season.
Panthers first-year coach Dave Canales had been undecided about playing his starters after sitting 32 players against the New England Patriots and 38 versus the New York Jets this preseason.
“My hope is to get the starters out there early in the game, get them some exposure,” Canales said Thursday. “The importance of it to me is how valuable the night before prep is, waking up in the morning — we have a one o’clock kickoff, and we have a lot of those the year — so just the body readiness.”
Backup veteran quarterback Andy Dalton also is expected to play for the Panthers.
They will face the Bills’ reserves. Buffalo coach Sean McDermott, a former defensive coordinator with the Panthers, said earlier in the week that his first-string players will rest in the preseason finale.
The Panthers (0-2) have struggled mightily to find a rhythm on offensive side of the football under the leadership of third-string quarterback Jack Plummer. Carolina’s only scores with Plummer at the controls have been three field goals in two contests, and their only touchdown came with Jake Luton at quarterback.
The Panthers finished a league-worst 2-15 last season and Young was among the lowest-ranked quarterbacks in most statistical categories. In addition, the 2023 No. 1 draft pick out of the University of Alabama, has had to learn a new offensive system under Canales.
“We’re very, very multiple,” Young said of Canales’ offense, which helped Baker Mayfield have a career season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. “It’s a good mixture of run, play pass, drop back movement. Some creative stuff that we do as well.
“Just being able to have different ways to attack similar things, that’s really important.”
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Eagles get WR Dotson from Commanders – In a mind-boggling turn of events, that leaves more questions than answers, the Eagles bolstered their wide receiver corps on Thursday, acquiring former first-round draft pick Jahan Dotson from their NFC East arch rival the Washington Commanders and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick, sending Washington a third-round pick and a pair of seventh-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Dotson, the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State University, plays with raw speed and explosiveness and spent the lion’s share of his time in the slot for the Commanders. He snagged 35 balls for 523 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games in his rookie campaign, and then for an encore, came back in 2023 with 49 receptions for 518 yards and four scores.
The Eagles see him as a good fit in an offense that features wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and running back Saquon Barkley who they just got in free agency from the New York Giants, as primary pass-receiving targets for signal caller Jalen Hurts. Dotson is a roadrunner, recording a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Dotson has shown flashes of brilliance at this level and had one of the best games of his career last season ironically against Philadelphia in a wild 38-31 Eagles win over Washington at FedEx Field with eight catches for 108 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown grab, on 10 targets. In his rookie season, slowed by a hamstring injury, Dotson was twice named the Pepsi NFC Rookie of the Week for his play.
Dotson played his college ball at Penn State and dominated there, recording 183 catches for 2,757 yards and 25 touchdowns in 42 games. Dotson was a standout in the college game from day one with five touchdown catches in his first three games. He also set a school record with 242 receiving yards in a November 7, 2021 game against the Maryland Terrapins.
Dotson also wreaked havoc in the return game, setting the Penn State single-season record with a 24.6-yard punt return average and he earned All-American honors in his final season with the Nittany Lions.
