Panthers quarterback Bryce Young did not practice on Wednesday after suffering an ankle sprain during Sunday’s win over the Jets.
But head coach Dave Canales is not yet ruling out Young to play in the Week 8 contest against the Bills.
Young did work on the side to start the practice week.
“I saw a little bit of [Young’s workout]. Did more than he did yesterday, so that’s good,” Canales said in his Wednesday press conference. “That’s our plan right now, is each day, try to push him a little bit more, see if we can get him out there in a different capacity. Wasn’t able to practice today, but was working on the side to do some movement stuff. We’ll just take it day-to-day and make the best decision.”
If Young is not able to play, the Panthers will start Andy Dalton at quarterback. Dalton took all the first-team reps on Wednesday, Canales said, with Hendon Hooker running the scout team. Signed this week to the practice squad, Mike White is also picking up Carolina’s offense.
But the team is focused on getting Young healthy.
“The whole group — they’re all just pulling for Bryce,” Canales said. “And Bryce as well, he’s pushing and he’s trying. He’s determined to try to make himself available for Sunday. But we have to take it day-to-day and we have to make a decision when it comes down to it.
“This is just going to be about Bryce’s health,” Canales added. “If Bryce is ready to go, he’s going to go. The rest of the factors — they all want Bryce to go, Andy included. ... But we’ve got to do what’s best for Bryce first and foremost and we’ll go from there.”
Young has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 1,288 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions so far in 2025.
Also on Carolina’s injury report, left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) and outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen (ribs) were limited in practice. Outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum did not practice and cornerback Jaycee Horn was limited on rest days.
The Panthers’ punter was a significant factor in the team’s win over the Jets.
On Wednesday, the league named Sam Martin NFC special teams player of the week.
Martin punted six times, with four being downed inside the 20-yard line. One of them was downed inside the 10, and one was downed inside the 5.
He had the league’s longest punt this week at 68 yards with an average punt of 46 yards.
Martin has now won special teams player of the week four times. This is his first win since Week 1 of the 2016 season when he was with the Lions.
The Panthers may not have Bryce Young available this week, so they moved to add some quarterback depth on Tuesday.
The team announced that they have signed Mike White to their practice squad. White was most recently on the Bengals’ practice squad and he spent the summer with the Bills. He appeared in one game for Buffalo last season and made seven starts for the Jets over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Young suffered an ankle injury in last Sunday’s 13-6 win over the Jets and head coach Dave Canales called him “day-to-day” during a Monday press conference.
Andy Dalton is in line to start if Young does not play against the Bills in Week 8. White joins Hendon Hooker as options to be elevated from the practice squad as a backup.
The Panthers also signed linebacker Jeremiah Moon to the practice squad. Cornerback Keion Crossen and tackle Michael Tarquin were released in corresponding moves.
The Panthers still consider Chuba Hubbard their starting running back, even though when Hubbard had to miss two games with a calf injury, Rico Dowdle ran wild, totaling 289 rushing yards and 84 receiving yards in those two games. Dowdle says he’s fine with any role in the offense, as long as the Panthers keep winning.
When Hubbard returned Sunday against the Jets, he also returned to the starting lineup, although Dowdle ended up splitting time with Hubbard and actually getting more touches.
“We knew we were gonna rotate every series, we were gonna switch up,” Dowdle said after the game. “Going into the game, coach had told us early on in the week. And I think it worked out. We got the win, so it worked.”
Dowdle played much better than Hubbard on Sunday: Dowdle carried 17 times for 79 yards, while Hubbard carried 14 times for 31 yards. The Panthers won 13-6.
“Like I said, we can win in all kinds of ways, that’s what we were saying in the huddle at the end of it,” Dowdle said. “That it was an ugly grind out win, but a win is a win, and we can win in multiple ways.”
For the season, Dowdle has more than twice as many yards as Hubbard and is averaging two more yards per carry. It’s hard to see how the Panthers can justify continuing to start Hubbard over Dowdle, but with the Panthers on a three-game winning streak, Dowdle has no complaints.
A report on Monday said that Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is expected to miss the team’s Week 8 game against the Bills because of an ankle injury, but head coach Dave Canales hasn’t ruled Young out.
Canales called Young “day-to-day” at a press conference on Monday afternoon. The NFL media report also said that Young is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, but Canales did not go into any details of the injury.
Andy Dalton replaced Young in Sunday’s 13-6 win over the Jets and will start against the Bills if Young is unable to play. Dalton was 4-of-7 for 60 yards on Sunday.
The Panthers have former Lion Hendon Hooker on the practice squad and Canales said the team is looking at whether they will bring in another quarterback before they get on the practice field this week.
