Panthers starters will play in first 2 preseason video games, says coach

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday that starters will play in the first two preseason games, stopping just short of admitting he made a mistake last season holding them out.

The plan includes playing quarterback Bryce Young, who got off to a historically bad start to the 2024 regular season that got him benched after opening 0-2.

Carolina opens their preseason schedule Friday at home against Cleveland, followed by an August 15 road game at Houston and August 21 home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Canales said he will evaluate after the first two games whether starters will play in the third game.

“Kind of going through it last year, we had a mix of veteran players, but [this is] predominantly a pretty young team,” said Canales, who has at least six new starters to the defense that was the worst in the league a year ago. “I just can’t pass up the opportunities. The reps in games are valuable.

“[But] it goes to the night before, when guys know they’re going to go out there, they’ve got to make a decision to play football. So it starts the night before with the prep. You start thinking about your plan, taking care of your body, making sure you get your rest.”

Carolina didn’t play Young and the rest of the starters in the first two preseason games last season, losing to the New York Jets and New England Patriots. The thought process then was starters got enough good work during joint practices before those games.

Canales played starters in the third game and won 31-26 against the Buffalo Bills. Young was 6-for-8 for 70 yards in that game.

But Young had a Total QBR of 8.9 over the first two regular-season games that was the third worst over a two-game stretch since ESPN began tracking the metric in 2011.

“It’s just experimenting with an approach,” Canales said. “I’ve been a part of it in Seattle where we played our starters all but the last preseason game. They always got some good work in a couple of series. I just think about Pete [Carroll], what he was looking for at the time was the same thing we talked about, that mental preparation, readiness to go out there and play football, full speed football.

“There’s a lot that goes into getting your mind right to go out there and play this game. So that as much as anything is valuable.”