Panthers’ joint practices with the Colts will reveal where the roster stands
In contrast to the hitting and more extensive team drills that have highlighted many of the Carolina Panthers’ practices the past week, Tuesday’s practice was not as intense.
The non-padded practice was shorter than usual — coming in at about 90 minutes — featured individual drills and a variety of end-of-game situations.
The lighter practice was in preparation for the team’s upcoming joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. The Panthers will travel to Indianapolis from Charlotte on Wednesday and have an off day Saturday. The two teams will then meet for a preseason game at 1 p.m. Sunday in Indianapolis.
The practices will feature the first opportunity to test out how Panthers players are performing against other teams.
“I think the joint practice is going to tell us a lot about who we are,” Rhule said. “We’ve had two competitive days the last two days and now we’ll compete against somebody else. ... It will be a great measuring stick for our guys, both on a personal level and on a unit level and a team level; where are we compared to them. I’m excited. Coach (Frank) Reich’s a great coach. Great chance for me to learn something from him as well.”
They will also host the Baltimore Ravens for two joint practices in Spartanburg next Wednesday and Thursday before a Saturday preseason game at Bank of America Stadium.
Rhule pointed to the offensive and defensive lines and quarterbacks as some of the position groups he is most excited to see against a different team.
Observations from the unofficial depth chart
The Panthers website released the team’s first unofficial depth chart Tuesday afternoon. While the depth chart is subject to change, there are some things worth making note of.
▪ The team did not put any players on the depth chart twice, as is common, but leaves some holes, especially when it comes to the offensive line. For example, Trent Scott is listed as the backup left tackle behind Cam Erving, but Scott has been taking more snaps on the right side lately, with Taylor Moton receiving backup left tackle snaps while Erving is out due to a shoulder injury.
Third-year player Greg Little is the third left tackle on the depth chart and Martez Ivey is fourth.
▪ Similar to last year, the Panthers are not tipping their hand at backup quarterback. Both Will Grier and P.J. Walker are listed on the second-team.
▪ Reggie Bonnafon is listed as the backup running back to Christian McCaffrey, as was expected based on practice performance. Chuba Hubbard and Rodney Smith are third and fourth, respectively.
▪ Former fifth-round pick Jermaine Carter is listed as the starting middle linebacker over Denzel Perryman, who has been dealing with an injury that could keep him out for some time. Carter was a player that Rhule highlighted for his play at the end of the 2020 season.
▪ J.J. Jansen, the longest tenured player on the Panthers roster, is currently listed as the starting long snapper. He is competing with sixth-round pick Thomas Fletcher out of Alabama.
Notes from practice
▪ With offensive lineman Dennis Daley again missing for personal reasons and Erving limited with a shoulder injury, Moton again took the first-team reps at left tackle in a two-minute drill situation.
Center Matt Paradis was wearing a green jersey, indicating he was limited, after missing Monday’s practice for personal reasons. He left Sunday’s practice early due to back tightness. Sam Tecklenburg took the first-team center snaps in his place.
▪ Fullback Mikey Daniel was waived from the roster. The team now has one open roster spot.
▪ Safety Jeremy Chinn intercepted a pass from Sam Darnold during a two-minute drill. The pass was intended for tight end Dan Arnold.
▪ As of Monday morning, the Panthers’ vaccination rate was 96% of players having received at least the first COVID-19 shot and 91.5% fully vaccinated, per a league source with knowledge of the situation. The 96% is eighth-best in the league. Overall, 91.7% of players on NFL rosters have at least one shot, and 80.8% are fully vaccinated.
Jonathan M. Alexander contributed reporting to this story.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
