A few rookies stole the headlines on the second morning of Carolina Panthers training camp.
Here are the top takeaways and observations from Thursday’s practice . . .
Princely’s prints
Rookie pass rusher Princely Umanmielen seemed to get a little too physical on Wednesday, when he made contact with the arm of starting quarterback Bryce Young. The play not only resulted in a strip-sack, but the end of the session—as head coach Dave Canales sought to protect the health of his guys.
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But after reviewing the “hit” on film, Canales told reporters on Thursday that Umanmielen didn’t get overzealous, and actually tried to avoid hitting Young.
“We watched the film—he was actually trying to avoid . . . Bryce didn’t have anywhere to go in the pocket,” Canales said. “So as he pulls his arm back, he kinda hits him and you can see Princely running kinda by.
“Still made a point of it. Still great to teach the guys in those moments. But just another great teachable moment for the whole group. Hey, let’s not pass judgement on what happened. I saw the play kinda, but I didn’t see specifically. We’ll be able to rewind it ten times and figure out what happened.
“But had a couple ‘nother good rushes today by Princely. Every day, shows up and does something good. I’m really encouraged with the effort, first and foremost, that he’s giving and the strain to finish all the way through practice.”
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Umanmielen chalked up another would-be sack on Thursday, after beating starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu on an inside move.
Corbett vs. Mays
Canales gave a few updates on the biggest battles of camp. He first addressed the center competition between Austin Corbett and Cade Mays.
“Yeah, I think we’re just gonna let them both kinda play it out and alternate days with who goes with Bryce,” he stated. “That chemistry matters. How the whole group works with communication and all those things—we’re looking at all of it, and we’re gonna evaluate it. Again, I love competition. I love asking guys to bring their best. They don’t have to go above and beyond of who they are, but it requires all of you.”
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Corbett started the first five games at center in 2024 before succumbing to a season-ending biceps injury. Mays eventually took over and started in the middle for eight of the team’s final nine outings.
Wright vs. Fitzgerald
Next up on the card was the kicker competition between veteran Matthew Wright and undrafted rookie Ryan Fitzgerald.
“I don’t know that right now, but I do know we gotta give them fair opportunities to kick here—on the skinny uprights—and also to get into games and see if we can count on them and from what distance to make that decision,” Canales said of the timeline on the battle.
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“And, of course, the kickoff comes into play. Who can place it just inside that 20 and let the ball run a little bit to give our coverage unit an advantage? So all those things are gonna come into it. We need more opportunities to be able to make that.”
Wright booted through four of his five attempts on the skinny posts yesterday. Fitzgerald followed up with a four-for-five clip of his own on Thursday.
Sticking with Ickey?
Ekwonu was asked if he thinks he’ll be able to nab a contract extension in the coming weeks. He chose not to talk about timing, but did express his desire to stay home.
“Well, I’m not gonna talk timeline, obviously,” he replied. “I’ma let my agent handle that one, and everything like that. But I’ve always said I want to be here. People always say this is home for me. This is literally my home. Born and raised here, grew up a Panther fan. So definitely wanna wear that process blue as long as I can. So hopefully, we can definitely get something done.”
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The Panthers exercised Ekwonu’s fifth-year option earlier this offseason. He is under contract for the 2025 and 2026 campaigns.
Top observations
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 2025 training camp tracker: Top takeaways from Day 2