Practice for the Carolina Panthers continued Tuesday despite heavy rain in Charlotte, as a slow-moving weather system brought persistent downpours but no lightning. The wet conditions forced players to adapt their equipment and approach during drills.
Head coach Dave Canales described handling the football in these conditions as “trying to trap a greased pig.” He noted that while Seattle often deals with light drizzle, which can be managed with specialized rain gloves, the intensity of Tuesday’s rain made most gloves ineffective. “What I learned in Seattle is—most of the time in Seattle, it’s a light drizzle,” Canales said. “On those days where it’s a little wet, those (rain) gloves are great. When there’s a lot of water like today, they can be inhibiting a little bit.”
Receivers and other skill players mostly chose to practice without gloves. Adam Thielen joked about the unusual move: “If I have no gloves on, you know it’s a rough day.” Receiver Tetairoa McMillan explained further: “You’re not supposed to wear gloves in the rain. All the grip goes away. You got more grip on your fingers.”
Most pass catchers followed suit except Xavier Legette, while defensive backs Jaycee Horn and Corey Thornton kept their gloves for style reasons rather than practicality. Horn admitted it was more about appearance and said, “it hurt me more than it helped me.” Offensive lineman Austin Corbett also practiced bare-handed due to his role snapping the ball: “Fortunately, I’ve very large hands too, so don’t make too big a deal. So not a problem,” he said.
Cornerback Mike Jackson added his perspective: “To me it’s kind of like, it’s a feel thing. So if it’s raining like today’s raining hard, really, ain’t no point in putting gloves on, but if it’s kinda like that Seattle rain, you can kinda get away with gloves, like, but not the regular ones, the rain gloves.”
Canales emphasized that practicing in such weather helps prepare for games early in the season when storms are common: “Just to get the experience of it, that could happen,” he said. “That could happen to us early in the season here, with just some of the storms that have been rolling through.”
He also pointed out how receivers must adjust their technique depending on conditions: “Some of the guys will opt for just bare-hand kind of playing, and then I think guys that have a level of comfort catching the ball in the body, kind of cradling it that way, tend to find a way to—the rain doesn’t affect them as much.
“The true pure hands catching guys, (the rain) makes it more challenging catching away from your body.”
The Panthers are set for another rainy session Wednesday as they host joint practices with the Cleveland Browns.
