The Panthers have added an experienced receiver and returner to their practice squad.
The team announced the signing of Ihmir Smith-Marsette on Tuesday afternoon. Smith-Marsette was with the Cardinals this summer and was released from their practice squad earlier this month.
Smith-Marsette also played for the Panthers in 2023 and spent the last two seasons with the Giants, although he never got off their practice squad last year. He served as their lead returner during the 2024 season and played for the Chiefs, Bears and Vikings earlier in his career.
Smith-Marsette returned a punt for a touchdown during his first stint with the Panthers and had a kickoff return score for the Giants. He has career averages of 8.3 yards per punt return and 30.1 yards per kickoff return to go with 14 catches for 182 yards.
Panthers Clips
Often-injured Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks is injured again.
Brooks has a groin injury and is considered week-to-week while he seeks more medical opinions, according to Tom Pelissero.
In Sunday’s game against the Falcons, Brooks tweaked the same groin injury he suffered in training camp. Brooks was limited in camp because of the injury, but the Panthers said before Week 1 that he would have no limitations.
Injuries have severely limited Brooks throughout his NFL career. The Panthers drafted him in the second round in 2024 even though he was still recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee in his final college game. Then Brooks tore the same ACL again as a rookie and didn’t play at all in 2025.
Brooks, who was the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL draft, is in his third season and still has never so much as gained a single rushing first down. He has just 52 yards on 18 carries in his career.
Deshaun Watson played one of his best games since his trade to the Browns on Sunday, helping power the club to a 23-19 victory over Tampa Bay.
In his Monday video conference, head coach Todd Monken told reporters that Watson was the club’s offensive player of the game.
“I was happy for Deshaun,” Monken said. “He made a number of plays with his legs. Played with confidence. He let it rip. You could see the difference from Week 1 to Week 2, and I think we’re just going to grow together.”
It’s clear at this point that Watson will be the starting quarterback for Cleveland’s home opener against Carolina on Sunday. He finished Sunday’s game 24-of-30 for 238 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed for 22 yards.
That came after there were reports leading up to the game that the Browns would evaluate the QB play following Sunday’s matchup with Tampa Bay — the implication being that Cleveland could turn to Shedeur Sanders.
But even as Watson played well, it’s going to take more good performances for the questions about who will start at quarterback to stop.
“Do I love dealing with it every week? Of course not. You guys keep asking, which is a lot of fun,” Monken said, tongue-in-cheek. “But the reality is, of course — of course. And I’m happy for Deshaun, the way he’s played, and I expected improvement, and I expect continued improvement.
“There’s a lot of football left in him — he just hasn’t played in a while. And learning our system and trying to get him consistent with his drops and his reads is part of the process. He’s like every player. I see him as a young player. I know people don’t want to see it that way, and I haven’t been here. But I see him as still a very young player that is going to continue to grow.”
The reality is, Watson is far from a very young player — he’s 31 and has been in the league since 2017. But if Watson continues to play as he did on Sunday, then Monken will be more and more vindicated for defying the fanbase by playing him.
There was a lot for Panthers head coach Dave Canales to like about the way his team played in Sunday’s 34-3 win over the Falcons and linebacker Devin Lloyd’s performance was at the top of the list.
Lloyd was one of the biggest offseason acquisitions for Carolina, but he and the rest of the defense got steamrolled by the Bears in a Week 1 loss. Things went much better for the entire unit this week and Lloyd was right in the middle of all the action.
Lloyd had two interceptions, including a third quarter pick that he returned for a touchdown. He also had nine tackles and a sack to earn high praise from Canales after the game.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a better performance out of a linebacker in 17 years of coaching in the NFL,” Canales said, via the team’s website.
Per the Panthers, no other linebacker has ever had eight or more tackles, two or more interceptions, a touchdown, and a sack in the same game. Even when you adjust for the low level of difficulty involved with facing a Falcons offense quarterbacked by Cooper Rush and Jack Strand, it was an impressive outing for Lloyd and a Panthers defense that really needed to rebound from their opening debacle.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson didn’t throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns, but he likely did enough to earn another start.
After the win at Tampa Bay, coach Todd Monken was asked whether Watson would remain the quarterback for the Week 3 home opener against the Panthers.
“Really?” Monken said, via Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “Really? I’m gonna enjoy this win and I thought he played his ass off. I’m gonna leave it at that. I’m so happy for him.”
Watson completed 24 of 30 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the 23-19 victory over the Buccaneers. And that’s likely not nearly enough to get the Cleveland customers to let bygones be bygones for a pair of home games only four days apart — next Sunday against Carolina and the following Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Bottom line? It could get loud in Cleveland, especially if Watson struggles in seven days.
Falcons wide receiver Drake London got into a verbal altercation with a fan during the team’s 34-3 home loss to the Panthers.
Sideline cameras showed London shouting profanities to an unknown person as teammate Olamide Zaccheaus held him back.
London later told reporters that he was reacting to “personal stuff” being said to him, and he knows his reaction was “not the right thing to do.”
“I’m going to be honest here, I don’t take light to disrespect at all,” London said, via Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “I don’t care who you are. I’m a man, too, at the end of the day. So, if you want to get on a personal level, I can get there, too, but it’s not the right thing to do. So, I got to take accountability for that, and I got to push forward and be the bigger man in some of those situations.”
The Falcons have not had their top two quarterbacks, Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa, this season. They have a team passer rating of 38.2 with journeyman Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand.
London caught four passes for 51 yards after making two catches for 29 yards last week.
When asked if it was a fan he was exchanging words with, London replied, “It was somebody.”
“But with how the game was going and what was said to me, I don’t like it,” London said.
The Panthers scored 37 points and lost in Week 1, but they didn’t let a strong offensive performance go to waste this weekend.
Bryce Young threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the first half in Atlanta and the Panthers put the hammer down in the second half to head home with a 34-3 win over their NFC South rivals. Young’s first-half yardage was a career high and he added a third touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Young finished the day 23-of-36 for 287 yards and spread the ball around the entire offense. Tight end Darren Waller caught two touchdowns, running back Chuba Hubbard had the other while wideouts Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker combined for 167 yards on 13 catches.
The defense forced four turnovers after being torn apart by Caleb Williams and the Bears in Week 1, although any proclamations that the unit has turned the corner should probably wait until the competition goes back up. Cooper Rush fumbled at the end of a scramble on the first play of the game and then threw two interceptions before being pulled for undrafted rookie Jack Strand.
Strand’s first pass was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Devin Lloyd and the rookie finished 8-of-15 for 59 yards before losing a fumble to end his first NFL action. Lloyd also picked off Rush and had a sack in a performance that showed why the Panthers made him an offseason target in free agency.
The Falcons have a quick turnaround for a Thursday night game in Green Bay and there’s hope that Michael Penix will be able to make his first appearance of the 2026 season. Tua Tagovailoa could also be deemed healthy enough to play and the Falcons will need to find someone who can give them a better chance to win than they’ve enjoyed through the first two weeks.
The Panthers will head to Cleveland to face a Browns team that’s faced plenty of quarterback questions of its own, so the defense may have a chance to get into a groove after their rough start to the year.
The Falcons have made a quarterback change in the third quarter of Sunday’s home game against the Panthers.
Undrafted rookie Jack Strand took over after Cooper Rush threw his second interception of the game on the previous Atlanta possession. The Panthers lead 27-3 with 4:27 left to play in the third.
Rush also lost a fumble on the first play of the game, so he’s up to five turnovers through less than six quarters of the season.
The Falcons play again on Thursday night and they’ll be hoping that Michael Penix is ready to make his return from last season’s torn ACL or that Tua Tagovailoa is cleared from an oblique injury. If not, Strand may be making his first NFL start.
The Panthers defense gave up 59 points last Sunday, but things have gone better on the defensive side of the ball through 30 minutes this weekend.
Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush lost a fumble and threw an interception on the first two offensive possessions, and the Panthers also thwarted a fourth down conversion try later in the half. All of that good work allowed them to get into halftime with a 20-3 lead on the road.
Rush’s fumble led to the only Panthers touchdown of the first half. Bryce Young moved the team inside the 10-yard-line with a third down strike to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and then hit running back Chuba Hubbard for a three-yard score.
A long punt return by Jalen Coker set the Panthers up in Falcons territory later in the first quarter, but the team settle for the first of three Ryan Fitzgerald field goals after their drive stalled out.
The Falcons finally got on the board with 1:07 left in the half, but Young found wide receiver Xavier Legette for a 55-yard gain to put the Panthers in scoring position. He then found tight end Darren Waller in the end zone with 20 seconds to play to extend the lead to 17 points at the break.
Young is 15-of-25 for 204 yards while Rush finished the half 9-of-14 for 80 yards. The Panthers will get the ball to open the third quarter of play in Atlanta. i1
The Falcons’ hopes for a fast start were dashed right out of the gate on Sunday.
Quarterback Cooper Rush scrambled on their first offensive play and then lost the ball while being tackled by Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd. Panthers safety Nick Scott recovered the ball to set the Panthers up on the Atlanta 35-yard-line.
The Panthers picked up a key third down on a pass to Tetairoa McMillan and then scored on a Bryce Young toss to running back Chuba Hubbard in the end zone.
The score put Carolina up 7-0 with 10:48 left to play in the first quarter. Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell needed medical help to get off the field on the Panthers’ scoring drive, which is something to monitor as the game plays out.
