The Carolina Panthers concluded their preseason with updates on key players and roster decisions. Rookie edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, who left Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after a shoulder injury, underwent X-rays and an MRI that both returned clear results. Head coach Dave Canales said Friday, “He’s fine. He banged up his shoulder a little bit. They did some testing, some imaging, and he’s a little bit sore, but he’s going to be fine.”
Umanmielen was not joined by fellow rookie Nic Scourton during the game. Scourton had suffered a collapsed lung in joint practice with the Houston Texans last week and was transported back to Charlotte for safety reasons. He has since returned to jogging at practice as he recovers.
Canales provided an update on Scourton’s condition: “Nic’s doing great, every day stronger. I didn’t get the full update in terms of just like, is he 100 percent or is he 95 percent, but it’s up in that area… He’s been running, you know, and the next thing now is to just get him back into some contact to see how he responds there, but he feels great. He feels—asking him, he feels like he’s back to normal, you know. But I know that there’s a lot that goes into this, more than meets the eye, so we have to continue to evaluate that.
“But I feel strongly Nic’s going to be OK, be ready to go for, next week for practice.”
Both rookies were drafted based on their production and effort levels displayed during the preseason. Canales emphasized that the coaching staff encourages full effort from players while supporting their recovery processes: “We don’t pick and choose, when you’re on the field, you go,” Canales explained. “We ask the guys to trust us, go for it, go for it, and if you’re gassed, we’ll get you out of there… It’s the trust of the players to know when you go in there, you’re getting the best care, and that’s what’s happening here…”
Regarding speculation about wide receiver Adam Thielen possibly being traded back to Minnesota following reports of interest from his former team—the Vikings—Canales deferred questions: “You know, honestly, I’m letting Dan kind of handle all that right now,” Canales said regarding general manager Dan Morgan’s role in any potential deal. “I’m focused on our team… but that’s something that you know I’m going to let them handle…”
When asked whether roster depth at wide receiver could make Thielen available for trade if discussions progressed further: “Could be. I don’t know,” Canales said. “Until the conversations really get real…”
The team’s kicking competition remains unsettled ahead of roster cutdown day Tuesday. Both veteran Matthew Wright and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald have competed throughout camp; Fitzgerald made all three field goal attempts in preseason games while Wright missed his only attempt during game action but performed well in practice.
“I feel very confident in both guys,” Canales said Friday about his kickers’ performances. He added that decisions could also depend on which other kickers become available around the league after final cuts.
At tight end—a position marked by intense competition—James Mitchell made an impression with a touchdown catch during Thursday’s finale after joining from Detroit: “Another guy who just did a great job representing himself and showing us that he’s somebody we can count on,” Canales said of Mitchell.
Finally, offensive lineman Taylor Moton signed a two-year contract extension Friday morning. The move keeps one of Carolina’s longest-tenured players with four starting linemen under contract through at least 2027 seasons (https://www.panthers.com/news/taylor-moton-signs-two-year-extension). Canales praised Moton’s consistency: “It’s such a great moment for us… T-Mo has been a stud here for a really long time and has continued to show us the progress…”
