There wasn't much concern when promising youngster Nic Scourton went off the practice field during the Carolina Panthers' physical joint practice with the Houston Texans. It didn't take long for that to change once additional information became available.
Most fans thought the rookie edge rusher had fallen victim to the searing Houston heat. Scourton had actually suffered a collapsed lung, which plunged his status moving forward into doubt as the regular season rapidly approached.
The Panthers are counting heavily on Scourton and fellow Day 2 rookie Princely Umanmielen to bring more explosiveness to Ejiro Evero's pass-rushing options. They've both left positive impressions over the summer, but this sort of issue normally takes considerable healing time.
Nic Scourton making good progress before Carolina Panthers' regular season opener
Scourton is made of sterner stuff. The Texas A&M product is making encouraging progress, with head coach Dave Canales revealing that he's taking about half of his typical snap count already. The Panthers will remain cautious, but this cannot be seen as anything other than positive before Carolina's regular-season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"He handled it well. I'll follow back up with Denny and see how he comes out just following the practice, but he looked good. He was out there running around."Dave Canales via Panthers.com
This is a positive first step for Scourton, but Carolina will still take things step by step to avoid further complications from arising. Even so, the fact that he is practicing and ramping up his workload so quickly should make fans breathe a little easier.
The Panthers have D.J. Wonnum and free-agent signing Patrick Jones II to pick up the slack while Scourton and Umanmielen fully adjust to the increased speed of the league. Once they become fully acclimatized, that's when Evero will get them more involved. That's not a bad luxury to have, especially considering how devoid of depth his defense was at almost every level during a campaign to forget in 2024.
Scourton is a strong-willed character who'll be chomping at the bit to make an immediate splash after the Panthers traded up to No. 51 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft to secure his services. If he keeps hitting the markers, there's nothing to suggest he won't suit up at EverBank Stadium on September 7.
If it takes a little longer, that's fine too. That hasn't been determined one way or another at this stage, but momentum is gradually building around Scourton's status after a major scare.
Let's hope this trend continues in the coming days.