Should the Carolina Panthers play their starters in Preseason Week 3?

Dave Canales' decision not to risk his starters for the Carolina Panthers' opening two preseason games quickly became a hot topic of debate among the fanbase. After so much misery and demoralization over David Tepper's ownership, it doesn't take much to rile the masses on social media.

The head coach took his established figures out of the firing line, keeping the bigger picture in mind and preserving health with Week 1 at the New Orleans Saints on the immediate horizon. Some approved of the decision. Others felt a two-win team last season needed all the reps they could get before taking to the gridiron in a competitive setting.

Canales has his reasons for omitting those who are set to play key roles in 2024. They got plenty of work during an impressive joint practice with the New York Jets. Putting an extra toll on their bodies is not something the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator wanted to do at this early stage.

That could change this weekend. Carolina is going through a more typical game-day week in terms of preparations post-training camp before their preseason concludes at the Buffalo Bills. Sean McDermott's already declared none of his starters will be out there. If Canales follows suit, he'll be relying on the chemistry generated during practices to hit the ground running.

Dave Canales remains wary about playing Carolina Panthers starters in preseason

The speed at practice with pads on is one thing. However, it quickens further in a game-day setting whether it's the preseason or not. This was highlighted by Canales and is something he's taking into account based on comments via the team's website. The first-year head coach added that he is open to playing his starters if there's enough merit attached.

"Big difference, tackling to the ground. So you're going to get an elevated speed, just naturally. We're pushing our guys to go full speed all the time, but as we know, they get into this competitive moment, and when the jersey color changes and it's someone new, there's an excitement to it. There's just naturally an excitement to that part of it, but we're not tackling to the ground. So there's still a big difference. It's amazing to me always the levels of speed that our players take when it goes from the most competitive thing you can create in practice to what happens in the game, and the adrenaline and all those things and the lights and all the excitement of that."

- Dave Canales via Panthers.com

One could argue it's a good chance for the starters to gain some extra momentum versus Buffalo's second and third-stringers. That said, it would be surprising if Canales went away from his thought process. He believes optimum fitness is more essential than live-fire reps at this juncture - something not entirely uncommon among modern-day coaches who don't have a great opinion of warmup fixtures.

Some players are more important than others. Putting someone like stud cornerback Jaycee Horn in harm's way during a meaningless game is inconceivable looking at the other options available. The same goes for proven performers such as Shaq Thompson, Jadeveon Clowney, A'Shawn Robinson, and Derrick Brown.

What Canales could decide to do is provide the offensive unit with a series of two to develop chemistry and pre-snap cadence familiarity if he feels like it will benefit their collective growth. Bryce Young's relationship with new starting center Austin Corbett, in particular, is something that must be on point immediately.

Nobody is expecting much from the Panthers next season. Nobody is expecting them to be as bad as last season. But very few - if any - analysts around the media are anticipating anything close to a winning record.

Stability is the primary target. Bringing back a sense of respectability to a franchise that descended into a laughing stock in 2023. If Canales achieves these goals and provides encouragement his team is heading in the right direction, no fan will remember whether starting players got time in the preseason or not.

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