Panthers practice roundup: Terrace Marshall leaves workout early, update on right guard
The Carolina Panthers’ wideout depth chart took another hit Monday, as receiver Terrace Marshall was forced to leave practice early in the team’s summer return to the fields outside of Bank of America Stadium.
Marshall took a cart ride midway through practice. Stationed in the front seat of the cart, Marshall didn’t look to be in too much discomfort, but head coach Frank Reich said the wideout “tweaked a little something in his back” during drills.
Marshall, a 2021 second-round pick, was coming off a strong third training camp at Wofford College. While he didn’t start Saturday’s preseason loss to the New York Jets, Marshall rotated into the lineup with rookie quarterback Bryce Young and the first-team offense.
Marshall is competing for a spot in the starting lineup. With two preseason games remaining, his status for the rest of the summer will be notable as Damiere Byrd (hamstring) and Derek Wright (knee) are already sidelined heading into this week’s matchup against the New York Giants.
Still monitoring Miles Sanders
Sanders missed the preseason opener Saturday and failed to take part in team drills Monday. Reich said after practice that the team continues to monitor Sanders’ groin strain.
Wright (knee), defensive end Henry Anderson (foot) and offensive tackle Cam Erving (ankle) all sustained injuries in the preseason opener. Reich didn’t want to give a timeline for Erving’s recovery, choosing to monitor his injury over the next couple of days before offering any diagnosis. Reich said he expects Anderson and Wright to be out for “a minute” but still be “fine” in the long-term outlook with their injuries. Like with Erving, the Panthers will see how Anderson and Wright feel over the next few days before determining a timetable.
In positive news, undrafted guard Nash Jensen (more on him later) returned to practice after missing the preseason opener with an undisclosed injury. Fellow rookie guard Chandler Zavala, who missed most of the Wofford practices on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, took team reps for the starting group on Monday.
Right guard Austin Corbett (PUP-ACL) and pass rusher Marquis Haynes (back) remained sidelined. Pass rusher Jordan Thomas (undisclosed), cornerback Mac McCain (undisclosed) and tight end Stephen Sullivan (undisclosed) missed practice after missing the game against the Jets. Cornerback Greg Mabin (undisclosed) was also sidelined.
Zavala, Jensen in the mix at right guard
With Jensen and Zavala taking part in team drills, the Panthers added the two rookies to the right guard competition on Monday.
Cade Mays, Justin McCray and Michael Jordan all took turns with the first-team offensive line at right guard against the Jets. The overall unit’s results were so futile that the entire offensive line held an emergency meeting after the game. The problems weren’t just at right guard, but the position drew the most ire because of the turnstile within the three first-team series.
Reich was asked about how the merry-go-round at right guard impacted the cohesion for the first-team offense against the Jets.
“There’s always that fine balance,” Reich said. “We talk about healthy tension all the time, and how much do you do that, right? Cause ... that offense, you need that chemistry. You need to get going. But at the same time, we need to figure out who those five guys are going to be, and it is a competitive battle inside. We’ll just continue to work towards that final five.”
Young was hit three times, and it felt like throughout the game, the right guard position was vulnerable, even with the second unit.
Jensen was sidelined for the game, while Zavala hadn’t really spent much time in team drills ahead of this week. Following practice, Reich said the staff was waiting for Zavala and Jensen to return so they could compete for the right guard job.
“We’ve been trying to hold off (on) making a decision until those guys (got) back, to be quite honest, because we feel like those guys are in the mix and had shown a lot of positive things,” Reich said. “Their injuries have kind of lingered on a little bit longer than we anticipated or wanted. And so, we’ll see how that plays out this week.”
On Monday, Mays, McCray, Zavala and Jensen took turns inside next to right tackle Taylor Moton during team and position drills. The Panthers have been rotating offensive linemen all summer, but now it seems like the race for the right guard job is nearing the finish line, even if the preseason results left more questions than answers.
“It’s still up in the air, it’s still a competitive battle,” Reich said. “Probably want to get through this game (against the Giants), and probably — I’m saying probably — lean towards a decision after this game, so that we go into that last game with how that starting five is going to be.
Quick hits
▪ The Panthers’ depth charts at tight end and running back are down to four players each. It’ll be interesting to see how the staff manages the groups’ respective workloads against the Giants on Friday.
▪ Fourth-string quarterback Jake Luton, who didn’t play on Saturday, got his biggest practice workload of the summer on Monday. He took multiple 11-on-11 reps, which had eluded him in Spartanburg. The change of pace is worth noting as Matt Corral’s performance against the Jets wasn’t particularly sound.
▪ Javon Wims seems like a player to watch for the rest of the summer. If Marshall and Wright are sidelined for a bit, Wims is an impressive athlete who could make up some ground over the next two matchups. The 6-foot-4, 224-pound receiver has intriguing size at the position, and he was targeted quite a bit against the Jets.
▪ Kicker Eddy Piñeiro (groin) spent most of practice chatting with fill-in kicker Matthew Wright. Piñeiro and punter Johnny Hekker even introduced Wright to some of their mid-practice quirky games on the field next to the bubble. Specialists flock together is the lesson to be learned there. It’s unclear when Piñeiro will return from his groin injury.
▪ Cornerback Colby Richardson, an undrafted rookie from LSU, signed with the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Richardson was cut by the Panthers last week.
For more training camp reading, visit charlotteobserver.com.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 4:39 PM.
