The Carolina Panthers concluded their 2025 training camp with an extended and intense final practice, as head coach Dave Canales pushed players beyond the originally planned number of snaps. Defensive end D.J. Wonnum noted that what was supposed to be an eight-play period stretched to about 15 or 16 plays, reflecting the unpredictability and demands of game situations.
“It was part and parcel of Canales’ message before practice in the team meeting, ‘Last day in pads, let’s capture it.'”
Canales explained his decision to prolong the session: “I kind of had about half the amount of plays planned at the end in that move-the-ball, but it just felt like football and I was like there’s no way—I’m not going to be able to look at Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn and Derrick Brown—I’m not going to be able to look them in the face if I call this move the ball scrimmage period right now.
“They want to play football. Bryce Young wants to play. The drive was going on.”
With starters not expected to participate in Thursday’s preseason finale, Canales used this opportunity for extra preparation. He emphasized building resilience for regular season challenges: “Half of our team played a lot of football just a couple of days ago, so they had to call it up,” Canales said. “I’ve just kind of said to them like, ‘This is what it feels like on Wednesday after just a really physical game, you know, every week it’s super physical in this league, but you have to just—you’re not fully healthy by Wednesday, you’re completely sore still. There’s this and that, and you have to make a decision to go.’
“And they did that.”
During the extended drill, running back Chuba Hubbard scored on the first play due to a defensive breakdown; however, for the remaining plays, the starting defense held firm against repeated offensive attempts at reaching the end zone.
Wonnum described how these repetitions helped prepare players who will sit out Thursday’s game: “(It) was good for us, especially the guys that possibly won’t be playing on Thursday, so yeah, just building that callus, getting us in shape, getting us ready to go to play football was good.
“That just goes down to bend but don’t break, back against the wall, offense driving down the field, you know what I’m saying, we can’t get in our heads. We got to continue to play, continue to fight, and that’s what we did, and that’s a step in the right direction for the defense.”
After finishing last season with several close games decided by overtime victories but also recording some league-worst defensive marks (https://www.nfl.com/standings/league/2024/REG), improving defensive performance has been central throughout offseason activities—including new signings and draft picks focused on strengthening their front seven.
As training camp ended ahead of a season seen as pivotal for setting future direction (https://www.panthers.com/news/carolina-panthers-2025-schedule-release), players embraced competitive spirit during their final reps.
“That competitive nature started to come out,” Wonnum said of the period. “Something that we love and even my coach said it—like that’s something we need to have within the team…pushing each other…that’s going keep making us better.”
