Carolina Panthers rookie provided a spark in training camp as the rain poured
As the rain poured in Uptown Charlotte, making it so damp that drops were abundant and rain gloves were useless, there was one catch that stood out from the rest.
It was made by a defender.
A rookie defender, at that.
Lathan Ransom, the rookie hard-hitting safety out of Ohio State, has been impressing the Carolina Panthers’ coaching staff all training camp. But what he did during Tuesday morning’s flood warnings gave Panthers fans a reason to dream. His day included two pass-breakups and then one thunderous interception on quarterback Bryce Young — one in which he caught near the sideline, stepped out of bounds but ran all the way to the opposite end zone anyway, with Nick Scott and Chau Smith-Wade celebrating alongside him.
To Canales, Tuesday was merely the latest example of what he’s seen all summer.
“Just being where he’s supposed to be,” Canales said when asked what stood out about Ransom. “I think one thing that I’m noticing about him is he always seems to be in great position to make a play. And that comes with study, that comes with being disciplined about owning your leverage, analyzing the formation. ... I couldn’t be happier about where he’s at and where he’s headed.”
The safety group has been one of those positions that have caused consternation among the fan base this spring and summer. Scott and Demani Richardson, an undrafted free agent-turned-diamond in the rough, were the only two safeties to return from the year before. The team invested in the position in free agency — acquiring the versatile Tre’Von Moehrig — and then drafted Ransom in the fourth round.
This has been a benefit for Ransom, who has been “a sponge” this offseason, he said.
“They’re guys who have played, had reps, guys I could just learn from,” Ransom said. “So I’m doing everything I can to learn from them, pick their brains, ask as many questions as I can.
“Because when I go out there, and I’m with them, they depend on me. It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie, it’s your second year, or whatever. You’re held to the standard that they’re held to. So when I’m out there, I’m not a weak link. I’m out there making the checks just as confident as the other guys.”
Canales said he really likes the position group as it stands now, but that there’s always room for growth. But there’s a reason why the Panthers drafted Ransom, Canales reiterated.
“The reason we drafted him was his play style and the fact that he was a leader on a national championship team,” Canales said of Ransom. “There was just a lot we learned about him as a man, and we’re just trying to bring those people with talent but also character. And he fit the mold of what we’re looking for.”
Injury news
A few key Panthers weren’t out on the field Tuesday. Among those guys included star-of-camp receiver Hunter Renfrow and second-round pick Nic Scourton, who are both sidelined with hamstring injuries.
Canales explained why the team is ramping up certain players like this.
First, Renfrow:
“He’s doing great,” Canales said of the 2021 Pro Bowler. “He’s in return-to-play right now with our training department. He’s running, he’s cutting. I think it’s just the load of practice that we’re trying to be smart on, and making sure that we get him completely healthy so we can really see him in these games.
“And I feel really strongly that he’s there. But I think it’s more of a capacity thing. We just don’t want to take him through a full day’s work and then throw him into team settings and forget about the fact that he had something come up.”
Canales added that the team hasn’t made a decision as to whether Renfrow will play Saturday in the team’s opening preseason contest.
Next, Scourton:
“Nic is pretty much in the same boat,” Canales said. The coach added that the injury turned in two days, but the team is always cautious about soft-tissue injuries without five-seven days of recovery and strengthening.
Canales also said that while defensive end Derrick Brown has been dressed and going through practice — only sitting out of team periods — it is unlikely he will play in Wednesday’s joint practice in Charlotte against the Cleveland Browns. The coach said that the injury is an oblique/rib injury, officially, but that “the knee is great.”
Outside linebacker DJ Johnson (hip) returned to practice Tuesday.
What Dave Canales said about joint practice against the Browns
Canales confirmed Wednesday would be a padded practice, and that it would still happen, despite receiving a text from Browns coach and longtime friend Kevin Stefanski that read it was going to rain in Carolina “for the next 37 days.”
He also said that the players will be the ones who litigate how physical it will be and that the practice fields held up “great.”
“They won’t even be thinking about the water, I promise you,” Canales said. “It’ll be about this opportunity to go against other pros. ... We’ll have an opportunity for some of our leadership on both sides to talk to each other about the rules of engagement, what we’re expecting for the physicality of it.
“We don’t want people laying out and making wrapped tackles. It’s very similar to what we did at FanFest. Kevin and I are on the same page that way.”
4 plays that caught our attention
Ransom wasn’t the only one who made plays on the practice fields Tuesday. Here are four other plays that caught our attention.
- For a moment, it looked as if any catch would be a miracle Tuesday. That is, of course, before the 11s drill in which tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders finished an out-route with an away-from-body, diving catch from Young. Sanders also caught a deep pass from Young later during the team period and ran it into the end zone for a score.
- Rookie running back Trevor Etienne has been heavily involved in the team’s passing game this training camp. Etienne made another play Tuesday: Young rolled to his right only to stop on a dime and throw across his body to an open Etienne, who was running a wheel route for a score against the first-team defense.
- Second-year linebacker Trevin Wallace seemed like he knew the play late in 11s work when he wasn’t deceived by a Young play-action pass and stopped just short of the quarterback. In any live scenario that was a sack; in a practice setting, though, Young rolled to his left and fired a pass incomplete.
- Veteran receiver Adam Thielen got in the end zone Tuesday thanks to a shallow screen pass delivered by Andy Dalton that he took for 15 yards through the middle of the field.
Quick hits
- The Browns’ quarterback situation has been the talk of the NFL this offseason. And not necessarily in a good way. They now have five quarterbacks on their roster— veteran Joe Flacco, former Eagles reserve Kenny Pickett, newly acquired Tyler Huntley and draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Gabriel and Pickett both have injuries and aren’t expected to practice against the Panthers. So it’ll be The Sanders, Flacco and Huntley show.
- Rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald followed up a 1-for-3 performance at FanFest with a 1-for-5 performance at practice Tuesday on the skinny posts. All of those kicks looked good on the regulation posts, though — and again, the rain poured.
- During the developmental period, undrafted rookie linebacker Bam Martin-Scott was in coverage when he won a jump-ball over a third-team receiver. Martin-Scott, who notched an interception at FanFest, celebrated like he just earned his second interception in two days; the referees eventually called it defensive pass interference.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 2:39 PM.
