Panthers training camp notebook: Draft pick makes impressive rookie mistake
With the sun beaming down on uptown Charlotte on Wednesday, a Carolina Panthers draft pick made a memorable and impressive rookie mistake. He also got a friendly reminder to not touch the quarterback almost immediately after the mishap, which officially ended the first practice of what will be a long, drawn-out NFL training camp.
Princely Umanmielen, the team’s third-round pick, beat a blocker almost instantly from the left side of the line with his trademark quickness. The rookie from Ole Miss — like he was shot out of a cannon — zoomed to starting QB Bryce Young’s blindside, and as the signal-caller prepared to launch the ball, Umanmeielen connected with Young’s arm to force a strip-sack.
It would have been a special highlight play on a fall Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. But in practice, on a field adjacent to the Panthers’ headquarters, it was an example of what not to do at work.
Second-year head coach Dave Canales said after practice that while Umanmielen was just being a competitor, there’s still a time and a place to chase splash plays, especially involving the team’s most important player.
“A great rush, it’s exactly why he is here, to affect the passer,” Canales said. “Just came really tight around that corner and kinda nicked Bryce on the arm right there, the ball comes out, and that’s really not what we want to see.”
The coach smiled: “I want to see the first part of it, though. Just a great bend, flexibility and power he has in his rushes. So even some of the veteran guys came up to him at the end and said, ‘Hey, don’t back off of that, just be smart at the top.’ This is all of us; we need to take care of each other.”
In fairness to Umanmielen, most quarterbacks wear red non-contact jerseys at practice. The Panthers, as of a few seasons ago, have adopted black uniforms for signal-callers. The rookie might not be used to laying off the dark uniforms in team drills elsewhere.
Young, to his credit, was impressed by Umanmielen’s competitiveness and speed.
“That’s competition — it’s football,” Young said. “Obviously, there’s some etiquette stuff in football, but young guy, getting after his first day out here in training camp. And shoot, we want to see those plays on Sundays. He’s a competitor, we’re all competitors, we want to be getting each other better. Obviously, we want to take care of each in practice and all that, but I love what he’s doing, I love what he stands for.
“He’s on my team at the end of the day, so stuff like that is great,” Young added. “We love the competition.”
Emerging safety makes a big play early
Umanmielen wasn’t the only young defender to get the better of the offense on Wednesday.
Second-year safety Demani Richardson made the highlight play of the day during 7-on-7 drills when he picked off a deep heave from Young to wideout Hunter Renfrow near the end zone. Veteran safety Nick Scott also made a nice play on a throw from Andy Dalton to new tight end Tyler Mabry in the flat. Dalton flung the ball to the tight end, who signed on Tuesday, and Scott wrestled the ball out of his hands for an incompletion.
Also, during 11-on-11 drills, new defensive lineman Turk Wharton nearly ran over Young after breaking through the line quickly with minimal contact.
Canales came away impressed by the group.
“The defense made it hard throwing the ball down the field a little bit,” Canales said. “Which is good, which is what we expect. Also, the focus of this group: it’s a very serious, very focused group.
“They’re intent on continuing to come together. We talked about that collectively; how quickly can we come together and just play football as one? And that’s really the goal right now in training camp.”
Young-to-Renfrow connection worth monitoring
As Renfrow looks to bounce back from his one-year NFL hiatus, he’s found some notable chemistry with Young.
The third-year QB targeted Renfrow regularly throughout the morning practice, and the duo connected for the most part, outside of the Richardson pick, which hung in the air a bit too long.
Their highlight came on an early team drill where Young floated to his left before zinging a dart throw across his body to Renfrow up the seam for a decent gain.
“He has such a great feel for the game,” Young said. “Versus man (coverage), versus zone (coverage) — he has a great knack for getting open — he understands concepts. He understands defensive leverage. He does a really good job at the top of routes, creating separation, giving indicators. Really friendly and easy to throw to as a quarterback, so super excited to continue to build chemistry with him.”
Young also made use of first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan in team drills. The QB fired a laser to the outside and McMillan caught it quickly and cleanly before making some Mister Fantastic-like bend moves to break free from the crowd in a non-contact drill.
Not to be outdone, Xavier Legette, last year’s first-round pick, caught a crossing-route throw from Young — it was placed perfectly for yards after the catch — and the former South Carolina Gamecock zoomed upfield for a big gain.
Jewell’s replacement talks “human” element of situation
Josey Jewell, who was released Tuesday, told fellow linebacker Christian Rozeboom that he was packing up his bags and moving on during veteran report day. Jewell, who signed with the Panthers last year, has been dealing with concussion symptoms since last year’s Week 16 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Jewell and the Panthers ultimately agreed that his release was the best option. Jewell can rest and recover for a potential comeback, and the Panthers can give valuable reps to their young linebackers to prepare them for the season.
Rozeboom, who signed with the Panthers in March, is Jewell’s immediate replacement and becomes the signal-caller for the defense. But Rozeboom wasn’t thinking about his promotion when Jewell gave him the news, instead the former Los Angeles Rams linebacker was thinking about Jewell and his health.
“I was more on the side of worrying about him as a human,” Rozeboom said. “It’s a little bit bigger than football. As far as it goes with contracts and all that, it’s a lot bigger than that for sure.”
Rozeboom became a starter last season during his final year in L.A. He produced 135 tackles, four pass breakups and an interception with extended playing time. The Panthers were excited to sign him to a 1-year deal in free agency, and he understands that his value will be felt immediately with a boost up the depth chart.
“It’s definitely not the way (I wanted to earn a starting spot), but it’s just how football is,” Rozeboom said. “You care about him as a human first and foremost, and it was great to get to know him and hopefully continue that relationship and then maybe play again together some day once he heals up.
“I’ve been in this role before, so it’s not something that’s new to me, so I’m excited to kind of take that opportunity and run with it.”
Quick hits
▪ Prior to practice, the Panthers signed cornerback Tre Swilling to the 90-man roster. Swilling, listed as 6-foot, 196 pounds, was part of the 14-man tryout group that worked out for the Panthers on Monday. Swilling will add depth to a cornerback group that is lacking experience behind starters Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade. Swilling has played in three career games for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets. Undrafted rookie QB Ethan Garbers was waived in a corresponding move.
▪ The Panthers practiced without the five players they put on reserve lists prior to training camp: TE Tommy Tremble (back/PUP), RB Jonathon Brooks (knee/PUP), WR Dan Chisena (calf/PUP), P Sam Martin (hamstring/NFI) and DT Bobby Brown (NFI). Brooks will miss the entire season, while the rest of the group can come off their respective injury lists at any point during training camp and the preseason.
▪ The Panthers used a JUGs machine to simulate punts with Martin sidelined. Running back Chuba Hubbard spent 30 minutes on a JUGs machine following practice, which is typical for the well-paid veteran playmaker.
▪ Kicker Matthew Wright got his turn with the narrow field-goal post to start camp. He went 4-of-5 attempts, with the lone missed attempt resulting in this beat writer making an effective play on the ball.
▪ Cornerback Mike Jackson dropped a would-be interception on a pass from Young after he got flushed out of the pocket in 11-on-11 drills.
▪ The Panthers had full attendance on the field in regard to the players excluded from injury lists. That was notable as outside linebacker DJ Wonnum (back) and wideouts Jalen Coker (soft tissue) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (hamstring) dealt with injuries during the offseason program. Outside linebacker Amare Barno, who underwent a knee procedure this summer, was also involved in drills on Wednesday.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 1:53 PM.
