Which Carolina Panthers news stories are hitting the headlines as the team makes final preparations before their Preseason Week 2 game at the New York Giants?
The Carolina Panthers were given another day off from practice on Wednesday. This has been a relatively relaxed preparation period compared to others around the league, but the experienced coaching staff knows what they are doing and with injuries mounting, those in power opted to err on the side of caution once again.
That doesn't mean the news and rumors stopped - far from it, actually. Among the stories making waves include Damiere Byrd's blow, Terrace Marshall Jr.'s status, Frank Reich's main goal for Friday night, and Bryce Young striving to improve.
Le's delve into each topic in more detail.
Carolina Panthers place Damiere Byrd on IR
Frank Reich recently revealed that Damiere Byrd's hamstring injury looked significant. As it turned out, the complication was enough to place the speedy wide receiver and kicker returner on injured/reserve.
Byrd returned to the franchise in free agency and looked like a strong candidate to make the team thanks to his explosiveness and ability to assist on special teams. That sadly won't be the case now and it remains to be seen whether the Carolina Panthers wait it out or release the veteran with an injury settlement in the coming weeks.
As is normally the case at this time of year, one player's disappointment is an opportunity for another. Shi Smith looks like the prime beneficiary of Byrd's injury, with the likes of C.J. Saunders, Derek Wright, Javon Wims, and Gary Jennings also fancying their chances of additional involvement.
Carolina Panthers WR Terrace Marshall Jr.'s status
It's been radio silence from the Carolina Panthers since wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. was carted off the practice field earlier this week. The wide receiver had an X-ray and reportedly had a scan in the complication's immediate aftermath, but no new developments came about until head coach Frank Reich stood at the podium on Wednesday.
The figurehead was almost immediately asked about Marshall's status and whether he'll be out for a considerable period of time. Reich stated via Augusta Stone from the team's website that they are waiting for the back issue to settle down before coming to an official conclusion.
"Don't want to jump to quick conclusions. Sometimes with these things you've got to let them settle down for two, three, four days, you know? So that's what we're in the process of doing."Frank Reich via Panthers.com
Reich added that Marshall would not suit up at the New York Giants on Friday evening for Carolina's second preseason game. That was seemingly guaranteed, but the fact a definitive prognosis has yet to be determined indicates this problem might be more severe than anyone initially feared at the time.
Again, it's easy to draw conclusions with almost no information to go off. However, the Panthers are obviously taking every possible precaution with a player that is about to embark on a career crossroads in Year 3 of his professional career.
Carolina Panthers HC Frank Reich's goal
Nobody expected the Carolina Panthers to emerge from their first preseason game with no points as a result of their efforts. While the result wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, the lack of execution alone was enough to suggest major improvements are needed before they take the field in Week 1 at the Atlanta Falcons.
No rational fan is pressing the panic button just yet. But head coach Frank Reich acknowledged via David Newton of ESPN that the goal is to be more clinical against a New York Giants defense that is going to bring the heat almost constantly under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
"Obviously, we want to have some success out there, move the ball, make first downs and score some points. Just play more consistently as an offensive unit. This isn't just Bryce [Young], but be better on third down, get our run game going a little bit. Just overall, on offense, we need to have a better outing. It's going to be a really good challenge for our offense against their defense, just because Wink is very exotic with his pressure package. There's going to be a blitz zero, there's going to be all kinds of pressure."Frank Reich via ESPN
Just how much the Panthers will open up their schemes on offense and defense is the big question. Everything became a little predictable by design as they don't want to give much away before the season, but they need to show some semblance of growth to start building momentum.
Scoring some points would be nice, too.
Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young looking to improve
Bryce Young looks set to play a similar amount to what we saw against the New York Jets in Preseason Week 2. The quarterback left a decent impression despite facing some tough challenges in terms of pressure, which did nothing to decrease expectations about what the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft could accomplish as a rookie.
The traits that convinced those in power to bring him on board haven't wavered. If other position groups make improvements, it should provide the Carolina Panthers with enough offensive firepower to make a difference next season.
Young was keen to keep a team-first mentality when discussing his first taste of NFL action via USA Today Sports. He also highlighted the need to make improvements in almost all areas and deliver more effective execution in pursuit of moving the chains.
"It was just a unique opportunity being able to play in the first NFL game, ya know, preseason game. But still, just gettin’ your first live, full team snaps—that was great. That was fun. And there’s a myriad of things that I want to improve on as an individual, us as a unit want to improve on. Just better operation, better execution for myself—first and foremost. As a unit, as a team—wanna execute better. But, again, that’s a day-by-day process. We try to approach every day with an 0-0 mindset."Bryce Young via USA Today Sports
The Panthers' offense will get better and the scheme concepts should get a lot more creative when competitive games arrive. Anyone criticizing Young over 11 snaps is just pushing their own agenda, especially at this early stage with no context attached.
Onto the next one…