The Panthers have received some more positive news on rookie receiver Xavier Legette.
In his Monday press conference, head coach Dave Canales told reporters that Legette is considered day-to-day with his foot injury.
“The MRI revealed no fractures in the foot, which is fantastic news for us, really, to just find that out,” Canales said. “So, we’re day-to-day with him. I would not expect him to play in this preseason game, just on the side of caution.”
The No. 32 overall pick of this year’s draft, Legette exited Sunday’s practice early with the foot issue.
“It wasn’t any play in particular. It was just kind of heating up on him,” Canales said. “So, at that point, we just try to get ahead of it. And I think we did a good job of our training staff identifying that and making sure we took the necessary precautions to make sure he’s out there.”
While Legette won’t play in this week’s preseason matchup with the Patriots, it sounds like Canales would like Legette to get some August game reps at some point.
“I would love for X to be out there, at some point just to play NFL football, but we have a good group of receivers that are fighting for these spots on our roster,” Canales said. “So, I just love that room getting those opportunities, being able to see different guys rotate in with the ones and all that.”
Carolina will host the Jets on Aug. 17 and travel to play the Bills on Aug. 24.
Quarterback Jake Luton is back with the Panthers.
The Panthers signed Luton on Monday because they needed a healthy quarterback with Andy Dalton dealing with a quad injury. They placed edge rusher Kemoko Turay on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
Luton spent time with the Panthers last summer and was on their practice squad until he was signed by the Saints in late September. He returned to the practice squad in Carolina after being released by the Saints in October.
His only regular season appearances came in three starts for the Jaguars during the 2020 season. Luton completed 54.5 percent of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and six interceptions in three Jacksonville losses.
The Panthers signed veteran tight end Jacob Hollister on Sunday, the team announced.
Hollister, 30, did not play last season. The Raiders placed him on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury before waiving him with an injury settlement.
Hollister played games for both the Vikings and Raiders in 2022.
He entered the NFL in 2017 as an undrafted rookie with the Patriots. He also has played for the Seahawks, Bills and Jaguars.
In his career, Hollister has 83 receptions for 707 yards and seven touchdowns.
Injuries have left the Panthers thin at tight end, with the team practicing with only three the past three practices. So, Hollister’s signing was much needed.
In a corresponding move, the Panthers waived/injured wide receiver Devin Carter.
The Panthers are waiting for word on how much time first-round pick Xavier Legette might miss with a lower leg injury, but they have a better idea of when second-round pick Jonathon Brooks might be able to play.
Brooks tore his ACL while playing at Texas last year and the running back remains on the non-football injury list. On Saturday, head coach Dave Canales said that Brooks will not play in the preseason but the team hopes he will be available to play around Week Three or Four of the regular season.
“It’s something we expected,’' Canales said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “Coming into the spring, we knew just the timeline and progression of where he was at. We knew we would not have him for the preseason. Even if he was kind of ready, there’s a confidence thing that we want to ramp him up little by little so he feels ready to go.”
The Panthers will have to activate Brooks before the cut to 53 players in order for him to be able to play before Week Five, so their decision on that front will be telling about whether things are progressing as hoped.
Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette left practice with a lower leg injury on Sunday and head coach Dave Canales said that the first-round pick would be evaluated by medical personnel to determine the extent of the injury.
Some results of that evaluation are reportedly in. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that X-rays of Legette’s leg were negative.
Rapoport adds that the rookie will also have an MRI before any final determinations of his status are made.
Legette missed time in the spring with a hamstring injury, but the current issue is not related to that one. The Panthers will be hoping that any tweak will not keep the wideout out of action for long.
