Panthers camp breakdown: Young, Marshall make most of team drills before Jets arrive
Bryce Young stood in the shotgun formation as he watched a misfired snap zoom to his right. The rookie quarterback was able to save the 11-on-11 rep as he palmed the ball in his right hand with little hesitation.
Young kept his eyes downfield as he collected the ball in mid-air on Tuesday at Wofford College. He then fired a laser throw over the middle to wideout Laviska Shenault, who hauled in the pass.
The successful completion was among a handful of highlights for Young on the day.
Following practice, head coach Frank Reich said the workout was among the best team practices — offense, defense and special teams — this summer. And frankly, it’s hard to argue against that sentiment through 10 practices.
As the Panthers prepare to host the New York Jets for a pair of joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday in Spartanburg, S.C., the team closed out its solo summer slate with a terrific display from all three phases of the depth chart.
TRAINING CAMP PRACTICE RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9
Young has a good day
Young got off to an excellent start on Tuesday, connecting on his first three passes of 11-on-11 drills. His fourth pass was an accurate strike to wideout DJ Chark, who uncharacteristically dropped the ball across the middle after beating cornerback Keith Taylor in coverage.
Following the drop, the first-team group took a break ahead of 7-on-7 reps. During that set of drills, Young was, again, brilliant.
He completed his first six passes of the 7-on-7 drill, finding rookie Jonathan Mingo on a pair of short tosses before opening up his targets to the group. He threw a nice ball to tight end Ian Thomas on an out route before placing an excellent ball to Marshall between cornerback Donte Jackson and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. The next play, Young went back to Marshall on a crossing route for another completion. Young also completed a pass to tight end Tommy Tremble, who leaped up to make an impressive grab.
The first-team offense returned to 11-on-11 work with a would-be sack from pass rusher Brian Burns. Following the sack, Young completed a pass to wideout Adam Thielen. Young later made the excellent throw to Shenault off the misfired snap. He also made an extremely impressive side arm throw to Chark over the middle. The ball had excellent velocity as it sped into Chark’s hands for the completion.
He went back to Chark, again, on a pair of intermediate throws, but wasn’t able to connect with Mingo on a diving drop across the middle.
Young finished 12 of 18 in 11-on-11 drills. However, his day was impressive beyond the numbers, especially since a couple of those “throws” were clock-stoppers in situational periods.
Young avoided interceptions and mistakes, and he really seemed to flow within the offense.
Marshall’s surge continues
Terrace Marshall, a 2021 second-round pick, has progressed quite a bit over the past two weeks. On Tuesday, he was electric, as he caught a handful of meaningful passes in team drills.
Marshall made back-to-back plays on passes from Young in 7-on-7 drills. The first completion came on a throw between defenders. The second, a Marshall highlight, featured the wideout catching the ball on a diving reception.
Later on, Marshall made a nice catch off a ball from backup quarterback Andy Dalton in 7-on-7 work. Then, during 11-on-11 drills, Marshall drew a chant from the offense for a great catch off a deep post route in 11-on-11 drills. Dalton made an excellent throw, but Marshall showed off his size and speed on the deep-ball completion.
While Chark and Thielen have been more consistent in camp, Marshall has made major strides over the past two weeks. If he can continue to gain ground against the Jets’ formidable defense, this could be the start of a breakout campaign for the previously lightly used playmaker.
A notable injury at wideout
Following practice, Reich said that receiver/returner Damiere Byrd suffered a “significant” hamstring injury last week. According to Reich, there is a belief that the injury could force Byrd out of action for roughly six to eight weeks.
Byrd was having an impressive camp and seemed like the favorite for the sixth and final wideout spot. With Byrd sidelined, the numbers game on offense could evolve. Instead of keeping a sixth receiver, could the Panthers keep a fourth tight end?
Reich didn’t say whether or not the team would place Byrd on injured reserve, but the implication of missing a month or more could simply make that designation just a formality at this point.
Quick Hits
▪ In the middle of practice, the Panthers announced that they officially signed pass rusher Justin Houston to his one-year contract. The team waived rookie Jalen Redmond off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to add Houston to the roster. Redmond never fully practiced during training camp because of his designation on the injury list with an undisclosed ailment.
▪ Mingo, the team’s second-round pick, has had a few drops over the past few days. On Tuesday, he added two more to the collection with a pair of rough ones. Mingo is getting open regularly, and he’s receiving consistent targets, but the drops will be worth monitoring in his rookie preseason.
▪ Wideout Shi Smith is doing everything he can to make the Panthers’ roster this year. Every once and a while, he will have a spectacular play with the deep-depth groups. He made a nice snag on Tuesday off a ball from Dalton in second-team 11-on-11 work. Smith caught the ball as he fell to the ground.
▪ Dalton had a sharp day overall. His highlights were the toss to Marshall on a post route and a nicely placed ball to Thielen, who was being covered quite well by defensive back Josh Thomas.
▪ Running back Miles Sanders has done a nice job of catching the football in camp. Sanders’ receiving skills were a concern heading into camp, but he’s done a nice job of putting out that fire this summer.
▪ The Panthers continued to rotate offensive linemen in and out of drills. It’ll be interesting to see if they continue that routine against the Jets.
▪ Fourth-string quarterback Jake Luton finally got to throw a pass in 7-on-7 drills. It was broken up by linebacker Deion Jones.
▪ Pass rusher Marquis Haynes (back) is still sidelined with a back injury. Right tackle Taylor Moton and linebacker Frankie Luvu were off Tuesday, as well. Moton had previously had a vet day off, while Luvu had not. Guard Austin Corbett (ACL) is now the only remaining player on the PUP list.
▪ Derek Wright made a couple of really nice catches with the second-team group. He has had a solid camp, but it’s hard to see where he fits ahead of the preseason. With Byrd sidelined, Wright and Shi Smith could be competing for the sixth wideout job in the preseason.
▪ The Panthers hosted D.W. Daniel High School — from Central, S.C. — at practice. Panthers defensive end DeShawn Williams went to Daniel High and spoke to the players while they were on the Wofford campus. During the Panthers’ practice, the team took a break from the workout to check out the high school action on the adjacent field for a few minutes.
More training camp reading at charlotteobserver.com:
▪ Panthers safety Xavier Woods says everyone knows what he needs to improve on in 2023
▪ Under-the-radar Panthers defender wants to ‘take up space’ to benefit his teammates
▪ For Panthers offense to get better, this player must come back. But he’s not ready yet
▪ He’s a huge Carolina Panthers fan and podcaster. He’s also an inspiration
▪ How Panthers lineman went from loading Amazon trucks to signing with hometown team
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 2:42 PM.
