Panthers Clips
When the Panthers traded up to select Bryce Young at No. 1 overall in the 2023 draft, team owner David Tepper noted that the club felt like Young gave Carolina the best chance to win Super Bowls — with an emphasis on the plural.
Through three seasons, Young’s play has been spotty. But he did help lead the Panthers to a division title before giving the Rams all they could handle in an eventual postseason loss.
Tepper held a rare press conference on Wednesday, during which he was asked if he still believes Young can win multiple Super Bowls.
“I think he has a lot of talent, and with the right weapons and the right situation, yeah,” Tepper said, via Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
Young is under contract through 2027 after the Panthers exercised his fifth-year option in the spring. Tepper declined to say whether or not the club had offered Young an extension, deferring the question to General Manager Dan Morgan.
But Tepper noted that he’s still a believer in Young.
“He has performed at a high level against high-level competition,” Tepper said. “It seems to bring the best out in him. Bryce is the type of guy who doesn’t feel the pressure. You saw that against the Rams twice [last year]. When you see that, you know it’s there.
“Can he bring it every single game? I know it’s there.”
Young put together his best season so far in 2025, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 3,011 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In Carolina’s postseason loss to Los Angeles, Young completed 21-of-40 passes for 264 yards with a touchdown and a pick.
Running back Jonathon Brooks is on the Panthers’ injury report for Week 1, but it sounds like he’s in good shape to make his first regular season appearance since Week 14 of the 2024 season.
Head coach Dave Canales said that Brooks is dealing with “a little bit of soreness” in his groin and that the team limited his practice workload as a result. Canales added that he is “very confident that he’ll be out there” against the Bears on Sunday.
Brooks’s 2024 torn ACL was his second in as many years and he missed all of last season while recovering.
Defensive tackle Bobby Brown (back) was also a limited participant while defensive end Pat Jones (back) did not practice. Canales said Jones will not play against Chicago.
The Bears have settled on a starting left tackle.
Head coach Ben Johnson announced on Tuesday that Braxton Jones will be manning the position against the Panthers on Sunday. Jones competed with Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie, and Jedrick Wills over the course of the offseason and summer.
Jones started 44 games at the position over the last four seasons, which likely helped give him an edge at what Johnson called “a hot spot” for the team last month. Amegadjie and Wills have since been released.
Ozzy Trapilo took over the starting job on the left side last season, but he’s still working his way back from the patellar tendon injury he suffered in the postseason. Johnson said there’s no timeline for the end of that process at the moment, so Jones will get his chance to make a case for an extended run in the job.
Bears receiver Rome Odunze is dealing with a right calf injury, but he may still be able to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Panthers.
Head coach Ben Johnson told reporters in his Tuesday press conference that Odunze is “more day-to-day right now” after he left last Thursday’s practice early.
“I don’t believe he’ll be out there today, but we’re hopeful he’ll be out there on Sunday,” Johnson said.
Odunze is entering his third pro season. Last year, he appeared in 12 games, catching 44 passes for 661 yards with six touchdowns. He then had four receptions for 88 yards in two postseason games.
The Bears’ first injury report of the season is due out on Wednesday.
The Bears had some good news and some bad news on the injury front at Monday’s practice.
Reporters at the session noted that wide receiver Rome Odunze did not take part in the session. Odunze left last Thursday’s practice early with what appeared to be a lower body injury.
Running back D’Andre Swift also left that practice early, but a report said he was dealing with a cramp and he was on the field on Monday. Kyle Monangai was also on the field after missing most of the last month with a hyperextended knee.
The Bears will issue their first official injury report of the season on Wednesday and that will provide more clues about whether any of the three players are at risk of missing the opener against the Panthers.
The Bears saw two offensive players leave practice early on Thursday and a report updates the reason why one of them left the field.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that running back D’Andre Swift had a cramp. Reporters at the practice said that Swift was holding his midsection as he made his way to the sidelines.
There’s no word on Swift’s outlook, but the Bears will take a few days off before returning to finalize their preparations for their Week 1 trip to Carolina and a cramp would not seem to be a long-term injury. That would be good news as Kyle Monangai is questionable to play due to a hyperextended knee.
Odunze’s condition has not received a similar update, but reporters at the practice said he was trying to get back into the workout so the Bears may have avoided major injuries on both fronts.
Bryce Young was voted a team captain for the fourth consecutive season.
The Panthers announced the five season-long captains, voted on by players, and they include their quarterback.
Running back Chuba Hubbard, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, linebacker Devin Lloyd and long snapper JJ Jansen are the Panthers’ other captains.
Jansen, like Young, is a captain for a fourth time.
Only 20 Panthers have served as a season-long captain at least four times. Luke Kuechly, Cam Newton and Thomas Davis hold the team record, having each served as a captain seven times.
Bears fans will be monitoring the status of two offensive players heading into the team’s Week 1 game against the Panthers.
According to multiple reporters, wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back D’Andre Swift both made early exits from Thursday’s practice. There was no word from the team about either player and head coach Ben Johnson is not scheduled to speak to the media until next week.
The Bears will also start issuing official injury reports after Wednesday’s practice.
Odunze dealt with a foot injury while catching 44 passes for 661 yards and six touchdowns last season. Swift is backed up by Kyle Monangai, who has been hampered by a knee injury this summer, and Roschon Johnson.
Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks remained out of practice on Wednesday, but head coach Dave Canales is unconcerned that Brooks’ injury will keep him out of the season opener.
“I’m very optimistic he’ll be available for Week 1,” Canales said Wednesday, via ESPN’s Mike Kaye.
Brooks is dealing with “soreness” Canales revealed Tuesday, but Canales would not specify the location of Brooks’ discomfort.
Brooks has undergone back-to-back ACL surgeries on his right knee, but he participated in all of training camp and two preseason games this summer. He played 17 snaps in the preseason.
He tore his right ACL against the Eagles in December 2024, a season after tearing it while playing for the University of Texas. Brooks missed all of the 2025 season.
In the three games he played as a rookie in 2024, Brooks had 12 touches for 45 yards.
Brooks is expected to complement Chuba Hubbard, with journeyman AJ Dillon also on the active roster. Trevor Etienne is on injured reserve with a designation to return as he works his way back from an ankle injury.
The Panthers placed offensive lineman Brady Christensen on injured reserve Tuesday, the team announced.
Christensen will miss at least the first four games as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.
His 2025 season ended with a torn Achilles, but he had played throughout the preseason, including Friday’s finale.
The Panthers used his roster spot to make the addition of linebacker Bobby Okereke official. He signed his one-year deal Monday.
Okereke, 30, spent the past three years with the Giants after four seasons with the Colts, who made him a third-round pick.
