Panthers Clips
Veteran running back Miles Sanders missed most of last season with a knee injury, but he’s trying to get back on the field ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Sanders worked out for the Raiders on Monday. Fowler adds that Sanders has been fully cleared after having surgery to address his injured knee.
Sanders played four games for the Cowboys last year before being shut down. He had 20 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown along with eight catches for 30 yards.
Sanders spent the previous two seasons with the Panthers and the 2019 second-rounder opened his career with four seasons in Philadelphia. He has 4,462 career rushing yards and 1,274 receiving yards.
The Raiders have Ashton Jeanty at the top of a running back group that also includes 2026 fourth-rounder Mike Washington, Dylan Laube, Chris Collier, and Roman Hemby.
On the first day of 2026 training-camp practice, Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Given that it happened during the mandatory, five-day acclimation period, the NFL Players Association is investigating the situation.
Via Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer, a Panthers spokesperson said on Sunday morning that the team is aware of the situation and will cooperate with the NFLPA.
The investigation begins, and possibly ends, with a review of the video of the injury. That will show whether Scourton was doing something that the CBA prohibits in the early days of training camp.
The rules aren’t nearly as specific as they could be. Some have suggested that this would be an occasion to create more precise standards aimed at giving players who have been away from football for more than a month a chance to ease their bodies back into practicing, before the pedal is fully pressed against the metal.
If Scourton’s injury happened under circumstances that comply with the current rules of the five-day acclimation period (and there’s currently no reason to think otherwise), the mere fact that an ACL tear happened so early in the process suggests that there should be tighter restrictions for the first official day that the players are practicing.
Everyone should want that — players, teams, and the league. The best players should be available to play in as many games as possible. While injuries are inevitable when the games are played, no player should ever be lost for the entire season during a no-contact practice to open camp.
Season-ending injuries are one of the constant risks of training camp, and Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton experienced one on the first day of 2026 practice.
Scourton suffered an ACL tear on a field that reporters have characterized as wet. Given that the first five days of camp are supposed to be an “acclimation period,” the outcome merits closer scrutiny.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL Players Association will review video of the practice to understand the circumstances. If it was a non-contact fluke, that’s one thing. If the Panthers were straying beyond the limits of the acclimation period, it’s another.
Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement contains general rules regarding the five-day, on-field acclimation period. Article 23, Section 7(a) provides that "[t]he first day of a Club’s preseason training camp shall be limited to physical examinations, meetings, and classroom instruction; no on-field activities shall be permitted other than running and conditioning.” The on-field work is “limited to Phase One-type conditioning, timing and testing, except that all coaches are permitted on the field.”
On days two through five, no live contact is permitted, with only helmets and protective shirts permitted during one of the two practices each day.
The video of the practice will reveal plenty as to how the injury happened, and whether the specific conditions complied with the limits of the acclimation period.
The Panthers had several players in for workouts on Friday and that led to some roster shuffling on Saturday.
They announced that they have signed defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, defensive tackle Elijah Garcia, and cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson to their 90-man roster. Offensive tackle Derrell Bailey, linebacker Jared Bartlett, and cornerback Mike Reid were waived in corresponding moves.
Garcia is the only new arrival with NFL regular season experience. He has played in 17 games for the Broncos, Giants and Falcons over the last four seasons. He has 28 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery
Barrs has spent time with the Seahawks and Cardinals while Nicholson was briefly on the Browns after going undrafted this April.
Earlier this month, news emerged of a Tetairoa McMillan youth football camp that didn’t involve McMillan. Or, ultimately, a camp.
It was clear from the reporting that the company that set up the event, FlexWorks Sports Management, bungled it. On Friday, McMillan was asked about the situation during his first 2026 training camp visit with the media.
“I don’t want anybody to think that I don’t like kids or anything like that,” McMillan told reporters. “You know, I love the kids. Obviously, you know, they’re the next generation. So, [I] try to give back as much as possible. But, yeah, I don’t know where that came from. I never committed to that. . . . I look forward to seeing all the kids that expected me to be at that camp either at a game or come out to a practice, or, you know, just so I can make up for it.”
How did the miscommunication happen regarding the camp?
“I have no idea,” McMillan said. “I wish I knew.”
While it seemed at first that McMillan may have been offering to provide game tickets to the kids who had signed up for the camp that never happened, it’s not clear whether that’s the case.
“You know, obviously, there’s a lot of people that wait for us [at] practice either before practice or after practice,” McMillan said. “So, you know, just stop by or, you know, just come to a game. Fill up the Bank of America Stadium, do whatever you can, just to give back.”
McMillan should be pissed. Even if he never committed to the youth camp, FlexWorks damaged his reputation and brand. Even if he has a perfectly valid explanation (and he apparently does), the fact that someone else put him in a position where he had to explain himself should have him asking pointed questions and demanding clear answers from the company that misled young fans and their families to believe he’d be participating in the camp.
The Panthers added even more depth at offensive tackle on Friday, after signing offensive tackle Derrell Bailey earlier in the day.
Carolina claimed offensive tackle Ryan Hayes off waivers from the Titans, the team announced.
The Panthers are currently practicing without tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton.
Hayes, 26, was on the practice squad of the Falcons last season.
He entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Dolphins in 2023 out of Michigan. He has also spent time with the Colts, the Dolphins a second time and the Falcons. He has appeared in one game, which came with the Dolphins in 2024.
In a corresponding move, the Panthers waived wide receiver Kobe Prentice.
Panthers owner David Tepper’s team won the NFC South last season and he’s expecting more of the same in 2026.
During an event discussing the extension of a naming rights deal for Bank of America Stadium and the ongoing renovation of the building, Tepper was asked what a championship team looks like. His answer made it clear that he believes the Panthers should be vying for the top of the NFC this season.
“What we have here,” Tepper said, via the team’s website. “Yesterday, I said last year going into the year, we weren’t a playoff team, we were a team that could get to the playoffs. This year we are a playoff team.”
The Panthers won three more games in 2026 than they did in 2025 and won the division, so it’s realistic to expect the team to continue to improve in head coach Dave Canales’s third season at the helm. That expectation doesn’t come with any mandate, but failing to meet the owner’s view of how the season should play out would make for some questions about how the franchise would react to falling short.
Nic Scourton’s 2026 season is over.
The Panthers announced that they have placed Scourton on injured reserve on Friday. Scourton injured his right knee during the team’s first practice of training camp on Thursday and reports indicated that the linebacker tore his ACL. The Panthers did not confirm the nature of the injury, but moving him to season-ending injured reserve suggests that is the case.
Scourton had five sacks for Carolina as a rookie in 2025.
The Panthers also confirmed that they have signed 2026 UFL defensive player of the year Cam Gill. Gill had 11 sacks for Louisville this spring and will try to earn a role in Carolina’s plans to replace Scourton on their defense.
The Panthers also signed offensive tackle Derrell Bailey and waived guard Joshua Gray. Bailey went undrafted out of Georgia State this season.
The Panthers agreed to terms with outside linebacker Cam Gill earlier Thursday. They filled an open roster spot later in the day by signing free agent tight end Caden Prieskorn.
Prieskorn, 26, spent time with the Lions and Broncos during training camp in 2025. He was briefly on the practice squad of the Bucs and then the Browns.
Cleveland signed Prieskorn to a futures contract but cut him May 19.
He played college ball at Ole Miss and Memphis and was offensive MVP of the 2023 Peach Bowl after catching 10 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton is expected to miss the entire season after injuring his knee on the practice field today.
Scourton has been diagnosed with a torn ACL, according to NFL Network. The report says Scourton will seek a second opinion, but barring something surprising, he’ll have surgery and begin a long rehab process to get ready to play in 2027.
Reporters on the scene said Scourton and teammates were emotional as he was carted off the practice field, and it was clear that he had suffered a serious injury.
The 21-year-old Scourton was a second-round draft pick last year and had a promising rookie season for the Panthers, starting eight games in 2025.
