The Carolina Panthers are monitoring several injuries as they prepare for the preseason finale with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday at Bank of America Stadium.
Following a light practice in uptown on Monday, head coach Dave Canales provided updates on a handful of notable players, as well as a few depth players who are fighting to stay in Carolina beyond the Aug. 26 cut deadline.
Injury updates: Horn returns to practice; latest on Dalton and Scourton
Cornerback Jaycee Horn (hand) returned to practice on Monday. The team had been waiting for Horn to get the stitches out of his left hand, which was injured in a car accident before the Cleveland Browns joint practice earlier this month. Canales confirmed after practice that the stitches had been removed.
Injured Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn walks off the field following the team’s game against the Cleveland Browns on Friday, August 8, 2025, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The Browns defeated the Panthers 30-10. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Horn missed both joint practices and both preseason games to this point. While he isn’t expected to play on Thursday against the Steelers, he should be in the lineup in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, the team’s first-round pick, was nursing a “really sore hamstring” injury on Monday. Canales said the imaging looked fine, but the team wanted to shut him down for a few days. McMillan watched practice and isn’t likely to play on Thursday, Canales acknowledged.
The head coach previously said the starters weren’t expected to play against the Steelers but went out of his way to note McMillan’s unlikely participation following practice.
Wideout Jalen Coker (illness), who missed joint practice and the preseason game in Houston, returned to work and filled in for McMillan. His status for Thursday is unclear.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan following the team’s game against the Cleveland Browns on Friday, August 8, 2025, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The Browns defeated the Panthers 30-10. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Quarterback Andy Dalton left Saturday’s loss to the Texans with a right arm injury. After undergoing imaging, Canales said Dalton has a mild muscle strain. Dalton was seen throwing the football in individual drills on Monday. He had a sleeve on his throwing arm as a precaution. Canales said he could have practiced and played if it was a regular-season week.
The team signed reigning United Football League MVP Bryce Perkins to compete with incumbent third-string QB Jack Plummer this week in practice and against the Steelers. Dalton, like starting QB Bryce Young, will probably skip the preseason finale. Canales acknowledged he’d prefer for Dalton to take it easy during the preseason finale.
Second-round pick Nic Scourton is recovering from a collapsed lung. He sustained the injury during a joint practice with Houston on Thursday. While the team initially thought he was battling heat exhaustion, a hospital visit confirmed the more serious ailment. Canales said Monday that Scourton has made “huge improvement” after returning to Charlotte. He added that Scourton was running a bit at practice, but the team is taking precaution with his return. According to Canales, Scourton will not play Thursday.
Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton (11) during minicamp on June 11, 2025, at Bank of America Stadium. Jim Dedmon USA TODAY NETWORK
Guard Chandler Zavala (knee), nose tackle Cam Jackson (shoulder) and linebacker Claudin Cherelus (groin) were among the group that returned to practice on Monday. Zavala had been sidelined since the first week of training camp, while Jackson and Cherelus both missed the joint practice and preseason loss in Houston. Canales said all three are expected to play against Pittsburgh, barring a setback in Tuesday’s more intense practice.
Outside linebacker DJ Johnson (hip), guard Damien Lewis (shoulder), defensive end LaBryan Ray (ankle) and defensive tackle Bobby Brown (knee) didn’t participate in the workout. Canales said Ray’s high ankle sprain hasn’t responded the way the team initially hoped but that they would like to see him play in the preseason finale.
Canales: Perkins has earned the opportunity in Carolina
Perkins, a former standout at the University of Virginia, donned a black No. 10 jersey in his first practice with the Panthers. After spending two years in the UFL honing his skills, Perkins is attempting to make it back onto an NFL roster, or at the very least, a practice squad.
Perkins spent three years with the Los Angeles Rams, so he knows what to expect from an NFL practice. There’s also some familiar language with the Panthers’ offensive playbook. Plus, he has former college teammate and current Panthers assistant coach Mike Bercovici to lean on with his studying crunch.
Bercovici and Perkins played together at Arizona State in 2015. And on Monday, the assistant coach was Perkins’ guide to the Carolina way of doing things.
“Really excited to get him in here,” Canales said after practice. “He’s earned this opportunity, and just going into the Steelers game, if Andy can’t turn it around and get the soreness out and we don’t have to play him, Jack and (Perkins) can play that game for us. So, it’s all hands on deck. Mike Bercovici is about a foot away from (Perkins) the whole day today, as he came in, and so it’s great to just be able to reward somebody who’s gone to another league, played so well.”
Perkins threw for 1,342 yards and nine touchdowns this spring with the Michigan Panthers. He also ran for 269 yards and five touchdowns on just 47 carries.
He received the league’s MVP award and was also named Offensive Player of the Year. The Queen Creek, Arizona, native previously set Virginia’s all-time record for total offense with 7,901 yards in just two college seasons.
While he only played in five games for the Rams during his three-year tenure with the NFC West squad, he did win a Super Bowl ring in 2022 as part of the team’s practice squad.
Canales said Perkins’ experience with the Rams appealed to him and general manager Dan Morgan.
“There is some carryover, the words are familiar to him, but it’s kind of a marriage of two different systems,” Canales said. “But football is football and he’s played a lot of it. He’s played significant snaps, and so I’m excited for him to be here.”
Canales added that he and Morgan discussed the potential options at QB on the plane ride back from Houston on Saturday. Ultimately, the duo decided on Perkins because there’s less for him to catch up on in a matter of a few days.
“Knowing that he has some experience in our run game, in our pass game — parts of it — it’s just a really cool fit right now,” Canales said.
Perkins could see some significant playing time on Thursday. While he hasn’t been in a camp all summer, he did play a nine-game season in the spring league, which saw its playoffs conclude this summer. He should be in football shape and ready to play this week.
If he can make a big impression, Perkins could push for the No. 3 QB job, most likely on the practice roster.
Quick hits
Tight end Tommy Tremble remains on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He was seen running routes on an adjacent field with a trainer — the norm this summer — during practice.
Canales said both kickers, Matthew Wright and Ryan Fitzgerald, would see action against the Steelers. The kicking competition is likely to last until the cut deadline.
The Panthers waited until Monday to process the corresponding move that led to Perkins’ signing. Tight end Tyler Mabry was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Mabry joined the team this summer and played in the first preseason game for Carolina. The Panthers will rely on Ja’Tavion Sanders, Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell, Bryce Pierre and Dominique Dafney at tight end for the remainder of the preseason, though Sanders isn’t expected to play on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Former Panthers QB Cam Newton will have his No. 2 jersey retired by Auburn University on Oct. 11, the program announced Monday. Newton led the Tigers to a BCS national championship victory following the 2010 season. He was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft just a few months later.