Tetairoa McMillan, JT Sanders shine in Bryce Young’s best training camp day yet
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- Bryce Young delivered his strongest training camp performance of 2025 Wednesday.
- Rookie Tetairoa McMillan and tight end JT Sanders made standout offensive plays.
- Coach Dave Canales praised intensity but urged smart play to avoid penalties.
You saw it when Ja’Tavion Sanders caught a perfectly placed back-shoulder fade over Jaycee Horn and celebrated by spinning the ball in front of the defensive backs.
You saw it when Chuba Hubbard punched in a three-yard touchdown run and then proceeded to punt the ball into oblivion.
You even saw it on an otherwise innocuous play — when Tetairoa McMillan, fresh off making two acrobatic catches in as many plays, tried to level a block on Tre’Von Moehrig only to be knocked to the ground by the veteran safety and be told afterward that he better rethink all that next time.
This was the essence of the Carolina Panthers’ training camp padded practice Wednesday on the fields just outside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
It was hard-hitting. Competitive. Replete with highlight plays.
And without any qualification: It was Bryce Young’s best day of his third NFL training camp.
All of this made head coach Dave Canales smile after practice.
“I love it,” Canales said. “My thing to them is, ‘Guys, you got the green light to show us who you are. I’m giving you permission to make this team what it’s going to be.’”
The coach added: “And if some things are a little out of sorts? I’ll approach it. I’ll talk to guys about it. ... We want to be a smart football team. We can’t have (celebration penalties). Let a dominant play be dominant. Let it speak for itself. It does. I address those things. But also — I kind of like it. I like the edge. I like the back and forth. But we gotta be smart.”
When asked specifically about Young, Canales said his third-year quarterback’s big day was a product of “guys being where they’re supposed to be.”
“We’re still working through some timing things, some void throws, some little tweaks to routes,” the coach said. “But the guys are being where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there. ... The competitive environment out here is great. It’s special. I love where we’re headed.”
Tetairoa McMillan flashes his reliability, highlight ability
Let’s start with McMillan’s big day.
The No. 8 pick in this year’s draft got started early in one-on-one drills, where he was matched up with early-training-camp-hero-candidate Shemar Bartholomew. The first rep was a completed out-route from Young. The second rep, Young tossed a deep fade ball along the sideline; Bartholomew was with the 6-foot-4, 219-pound receiver step-for-step and allowed McMillan to only get one hand on the ball — and the receiver still nearly made the catch.
McMillan would get a bunch more chances Wednesday. Among them:
- An out-route catch on the left side with defensive back Corey Thornton in coverage.
- A one-handed catch on the far side of the field that Canales later said was tipped by a defender; McMillan reacted to the deflection and still came down with it.
- Another secure catch — this time in 11-on-11 work from Young.
- And then a diving catch in red zone 11s work over Horn — the top pick vs. Pro Bowl corner matchup Panthers fans are dying to see.
McMillan wasn’t perfect. He dropped his first pass of the day, for instance. And Canales spoke openly about his complete day — which he said was “his best day of camp.”
“Just shows a lot of confidence and belief,” Canales said. The second-year head coach then smirked. “He’s had some pretty bad plays throughout camp. And he’s had some excellent plays, you know.
“He’s teaching me stuff about him that I don’t know. Just looking at his character: When guys bounce back quickly, it speaks to their confidence. They know they’re good. ‘I’ll do it again.’ And that’s really powerful.”
Jimmy Horn, JT Sanders get in on the fun
It wasn’t just the McMillan show, though. Far from it.
In the offense’s most proficient day yet, sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr. and second-year tight end JT Sanders each got their share of shine. And such depth was notable considering Hunter Renfrow was in street clothes Wednesday after slightly tweaking his hamstring Tuesday.
Horn’s day peaked in one-on-ones, when he got safety Moehrig on a hitch-and-go route and blasted past him for an easy catch delivered by Andy Dalton. Moehrig got the pass break-up in the pairing’s other 1:1 matchup. He and Jalen Coker — who flashed twice in back to back catches during red-zone work — were Dalton’s two favorite targets on Wednesday.
Canales told reporters on Tuesday that even though Sanders wasn’t getting all the targets — that didn’t mean he wasn’t winning in his routes and showing up well on film. That appeared largely true again on Wednesday. The second-year tight end was sure-handed in 7-on-7 work, collecting two short passes in the middle of the field from Young, and then punctuated his day with the aforementioned 15-yard back-shoulder fade route ball win over Horn. (There was a lot of contact between the two players; no flag was thrown.)
To expound on Sanders’ post-touchdown celebration: Sanders caught the touchdown pass right in front of the defensive backs, including onlooking Mike Jackson, who missed his second consecutive practice Wednesday because of a toe injury but still watched practice from the sideline. Sanders then chirped a bit, spun the ball and Jackson picked the ball up and threw it back at Sanders.
5 other plays that caught the Panthers’ attention
Here are five other plays that caught the attention of the team on Wednesday.
- Before the red zone period took this practice to another level, one of the highlights of the day came during 7-on-7 drills and found the hands of Xavier Legette. Young rolled to his right and fired a pass over Thornton and just in front of Nick Scott in coverage along the right sideline. Great zone coverage; better throw — one that had enough pace on it so Legette didn’t rise for a hospital ball but with enough loft to rise over a defensive back in coverage. Someone from the sideline yelled out, “That’s nasty!” It was indeed.
- Players have talked about Young’s willingness to talk some trash on the field, particularly with Jaycee Horn, who learned from the best agitator the NFC South may have ever seen in his father, Joe Horn. But most of it is before practice, underneath his breath, in smirks and stare-downs instead of flat-out scolds. That was different in one play, though, when the third-year quarterback was flushed out of the pocket in red-zone drills and scrambled and headed for the goal-line. Instead of the defensive backs letting him through and setting the ball up at the 3-yard-line, however, safety Nick Scott didn’t let his quarterback get in his end zone — and thudded the QB. That led to some chatter, including from the 2023 overall No. 1 pick. Hubbard came in thereafter and broke the play up ... and then the running back scored the next play.
- The defense had its moments Wednesday, too. The first came via Jaycee Horn’s interception along the right sideline. The pass was intended for Legette. Side note: Horn punted the ball after the INT; that prompted Hubbard’s punt after his rushing score.
- Chau Smith-Wade had two near interceptions. One was during 7-on-7 work. The other was in 11s work, right on the goal-line. He cut off a Legette crossing route beautifully and had both hands on a Young pass but couldn’t haul it in.
- This one could’ve gone unnoticed but didn’t with Dalton. The veteran quarterback snuck a pass in a tight window to rookie Kobe Hudson, who used his inside leverage on the second-team defense to score a touchdown. It marked the rookie’s first score of this year’s training camp.
Quick hits and injury reports
- Veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow — the team’s star of training camp to date — tweaked his hamstring and was in gym clothes for Wednesday’s practice. He told Canales that the injury was minor and that he could play in a game if necessary. Mike Jackson missed his second consecutive practice (sore toe), and Pat Jones missed Wednesday with a respiratory illness, Canales said.
- Tommy Tremble, still on the physically unable to perform list, was visible on the field Wednesday. So was offensive guard Chandler Zavala, who suffered a knee injury Monday and is considered “week to week.”
- Offensive tackle Taylor Moton and executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis met with reporters Wednesday. Moton responded with emotion when asked if he’s contemplated this being his last year in Carolina, where he has been since he was drafted in 2017: “If this is my last year, I want it to be my best year.”
- Saturday is FanFest in Bank of America Stadium. It marks the only time during training camp when fans can come and watch their team play thanks to the ongoing construction at the Panthers’ practice facility. Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website. Canales confirmed it would be a padded practice with “full tackling.”
- In case you missed it: The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation and the Panthers are funding 38,000 backpacks filled with school supplies. It’s part of a longstanding relationship with Classroom Central, a Charlotte-based nonprofit that serves 300-plus schools and six school districts. The foundation has been active this summer; in June, the Teppers donated $10 million to food banks across the Carolinas.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 3:36 PM.
