Canales: Panthers will use committee RBs Week 1

Moss exited Friday’s game with an apparent rib injury, but Payton said the team is choosing to make the smart decision by not practicing him. Moss totaled 57 tackles and one interception last season and has started all 31 games he has appeared in since 2024.

Sweat wasn’t happy with the Cardinals this offseason and chose to stay away from the team during mandatory minicamp and OTAs. Now that he’s been activated from the PUP list, he’ll have roughly three weeks to get up to speed with the team and new coaching staff. Sweat 30 tackles and 12 sacks last season while also forcing four fumbles and remains one of the top pass rushers in the league when healthy.

The Cardinals waived/injured Benson, meaning he would revert to the team’s injured reserve list if he were to clear waivers. The third-year pro has been slowed by the same knee injury that ended his 2025 season and was already a cut candidate after the Cardinals signed Tyler Allgeier to a deal this offseason and drafted Jeremiyah Love. Benson has rush 92 times for 451 yards and one touchdown in his career while serving primarily as James Conner’s backup.

It has, by all accounts, been an encouraging training camp for Mahomes, who has been present for every practice and has yet to miss a rep. While all signs seem to point to Mahomes being ready to go for Week 1 against the Broncos, Reid said the team is continuing to take it “day by day” with the star quarterback. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last week that Mahomes was on track to return, and most indicators seem to support that. Until the team gives us reason to believe Mahomes won’t be ready to face the Broncos, we will cautiously assume he’ll be good to go in a few weeks.

This explains the team’s decision to go out and trade for Zamir White on Sunday. Chandler, who was competing for a roster spot in camp, has rushed for 710 yards and three touchdowns in his four-year career and returned a kick for 86 yards in the Saints’ first preseason game against the Jaguars.

Penix was recently cleared for 11-on-11 practice and will participate in 11-on-11s on Monday. The third-year signal-caller has been working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in November and will now have a few weeks to compete with Tagovailoa for the starting job. While it seems highly unlikely that Penix would win the QB1 job to start the season after being limited for most of camp, Tagovailoa hasn’t had the strongest of camps. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show earlier, Adam Schefter said Tagovailoa “hasn’t run away” with the competition, suggesting a path could be open for Penix to win the job. We’ll see how these next few weeks unfold, but it’s possible the Falcons will delay naming a QB1 until it’s time to begin preparing for Week 1’s game against the Steelers.

Nabers continues to trend toward playing in Week 1 against the Cowboys, provided he avoids any setbacks. The star receiver officially shed his non-contact jersey on Monday and participated in a limited capacity in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. Raanan said Nabers participated in three reps for both drills and “made a really nice catch when he went down and plucked a pass off the turf.” Speaking after Monday’s practice, head coach John Harbaugh said it would be “reasonable to assume” Nabers will play in Week 1 barring any setbacks. Nabers projects as a low-end WR1 in fantasy this season with the upside for top-five production once he’s back to full strength.

Brown is a 10-year veteran of the league who signed with the Raiders earlier this offseason. Injuries limited him to just four games last season, but Brown has been a serviceable receiver who has totaled 450-plus yards in three of his last four seasons. It’s possible he could catch on with another team as an added depth piece, but we wouldn’t expect Brown to pop up as a starter any time soon.

Pittman and fellow receiver DK Metcalf both returned to practice on Monday after being sidelined since August 8th due to undisclosed injuries. Both players expect to be ready to go for Week 1’s game against the Falcons in a few weeks, and Monday’s return suggests they’re will on track to playing when the games officially count.

Metcalf hasn’t practiced since suffering an undisclosed injury on August 8th, but the veteran receiver said last week that he expects to be ready for Week 1 against the Falcons. The Steelers saw several key players return to Monday’s practice, along with WR Michael Pittman, who had also been sidelined with an undisclosed injury since August 8th.