Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd was named the NFC defensive player of the week on Wednesday, but he wasn’t on the practice field later in the day.
Lloyd did not take part in practice due to a calf injury. The issue did not stop him from intercepting two passes and returning one of them for a touchdown during Carolina’s blowout win over the Falcons in Week 2.
The Panthers were also missing Jaelan Phillips. The pass rusher was out with a back injury and head coach Dave Canales said that both players are day-to-day heading into their Week 3 game against the Browns.
Linebacker Claudin Cherelus (shoulder), safety Nick Scott (rib), and tight end Darren Waller (rest) were out of practice as well. Wide receiver Jalen Coker (ankle) was a limited participant while defensive tackle Bobby Brown (back) and linebacker Patrick Jones (back) fully participated.
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When Deshaun Watson was last on the field in Cleveland for a preseason game, he was serenaded with boos from the home crowd that he called “disrespectful” and “personal” in a postgame press conference.
In the month since that game, Watson has been named the Browns’ starting quarterback and he played one of his best games since coming to Cleveland to lead the team to a win in Tampa in Week 2. That ensured he would remain in the lineup for the team’s home opener against the Panthers this Sunday and he was asked at a Wednesday press conference about the reception he expects to receive.
Watson said “we’re past” the August unpleasantness and said there’s “great energy” around the team that he expects will remain in place when they hit the field this weekend.
“I don’t ever try to go to war with the fans,” Watson said, via 92.3 The Fan. “Ready for support, ready to feel their energy, ready to get this big [win] for the city of Cleveland and continue this great feeling we have this week. That’s my motto is just keep pushing forward and finding ways to win on Sunday. Take advantage of the opposing team and get a W.”
The Week 2 win might provide Watson with a different reaction than he got the last time he played in front of Browns fans, but the dismal overall results of the trade that brought him to Cleveland means that it probably won’t take much for those good feelings to disappear and the boos to start raining down once again. That may not be how Watson or the Browns would like things to be, but it is the bed they’ve made and it will take more than one win to erase all that’s gone down in the past.
Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd has been recognized for his big game against the Falcons in Week 2.
The NFL has named Lloyd NFC defensive player of the week.
Lloyd had nine tackles, two interceptions — including a pick-six — two tackles for loss, and a sack in the 34-3 victory.
According to the league, Lloyd is the fifth linebacker with a sack and two interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown, in a single game since 1982.
This is the second time Lloyd has won a defensive player of the week award. He also earned the honor last year for his Week 4 performance with Jacksonville.
Christian McCaffrey joined some elite company on Sunday.
McCaffrey ran for two touchdowns in the 49ers’ win over the Dolphins, giving him 100 touchdowns in his career and 50 as a 49er. It made him just the third player in NFL history to score at least 50 touchdowns with two different franchises.
Previously, Marshall Faulk scored 85 touchdowns with the Rams and 51 with the Colts, and Randy Moss scored 93 touchdowns with the Vikings and 50 touchdowns with the Patriots.
McCaffrey has some symmetry to his stats with the 49ers and Panthers: He scored 32 rushing touchdowns and 18 receiving touchdowns with both teams.
With 36 career receiving touchdowns, McCaffrey is tied with Faulk for the most ever by a running back. On his next touchdown catch, McCaffrey will have 37, standing alone with the most ever.
The Panthers have made a couple of roster moves official.
With news emerging that Jonathon Brooks will undergo core muscle surgery, Carolina has placed the running back on injured reserve.
He will reportedly miss at least six weeks.
As a corresponding move, the Panthers have signed safety Isaiah Simmons to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad.
Carolina had elevated Simmons to the gameday roster for each of the first two games. He has played 80 percent of the club’s special teams snaps.
The Panthers will be on the road to face the Browns in Week 3.
The Panthers will be without Jonathon Brooks for an extended period of time and they’re set to kick the tires on a veteran running back as they work to fill out their backfield in Brooks’s absence.
Austin Ekeler will try out for the club on Wednesday, per a report from Aaron Wilson that has been confirmed by multiple other outlets. Ekeler has not played since tearing his Achilles while with the Commanders last September.
Ekeler was in his second season with Washington after spending his first seven years in the league with the Chargers. He was a dual threat throughout his time with the Chargers, and peaked with 3,195 yards from scrimmage and 38 touchdowns across the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Brooks is expected to miss more than a month after having core muscle surgery. Chuba Hubbard and AJ Dillon are the other backs on the 53-man roster for Carolina.
The groin injury suffered by Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks on Sunday was worse than initially believed.
Although Brooks was initially described as week-to-week, he will actually miss at least six weeks, according to Ian Rapoport.
Brooks is scheduled for core muscle surgery today. The Panthers will put him on injured reserve.
At this point, it’s more newsworthy when Brooks is healthy than when he’s injured. The Panthers made him the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL draft while he was still recovering from a torn ACL in college, he tore the same ACL as a rookie, and he didn’t play at all in 2025.
Brooks has just 52 yards on 18 carries in his career. He still has never so much as gained a single rushing first down.
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.
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.
