Friday night, the Panthers hosted their Fan Fest celebration— the much-anticipated annual combination of training camp and preseason hype.
The event took place at the team’s home field: the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we were there live. Here are eight observations from the practice.
Players got acquainted with the artificial turf
Friday night was the players’ first time practicing at the stadium this year, meaning it was also their first experience on the artificial turf. Although Matt Rhule and company decided to ease into practice to let everyone get accustomed to the change, Christian McCaffrey announced on the TV broadcast that he “likes the turf a lot.”
The rain made an appearance
The event drew more than 20,000 fans to the stadium, but even that was fewer than anticipated. The forecast of rain for the evening may have deterred some from attending Fan Fest, but we think that the heavy downpour around 9:30 P.M. only made the fireworks and laser show even more exciting.
Some key players didn’t practice
Wide receiver Robby Anderson missed the evening practice with an undisclosed family matter, while a few other important names sat out with injury. Shaq Thompson and Darius Clark wore green jerseys, while DB Juston Burris had a veteran day off. TE Stephen Sullivan returned to the field for the first time during training camp, but still waited on the sidelines as he remains on the COVID/Reserve list.
Different options at kick returner
While we noted that running back Chuba Hubbard, wide receiver David Moore, and RB/WR Trenton Cannon primarily fielded kickoffs at last Saturday night’s practice, the team switched up those players a bit last night. At Fan Fest, we saw David Moore joined by rookie wide receivers Shi Smith and C.J. Saunders, along with D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey.
Omar Bayless shows out again
The 2020 training camp phenom continues to impress in 2021. Last night, Bayless hauled in multiple receptions on 7-on-7 drills from different quarterbacks, then followed it up by playing a key receiving role in the one-minute drill the team ran at the end of practice. Bayless will compete for one of the team’s final spots on the depth chart at receiver.
Bad day for the backup running backs
The Panthers focused a lot more attention on the pass-catching side of the running back position, and it resulted in a lot of drops and miscues for the backups. Chuba Hubbard dropped a pass from P.J. Walker, then tipped it into the hands of DB Sean Chandler who returned it to the house. Later, Trenton Cannon dropped a pass from Will Grier then slipped on a route in consecutive plays. Cannon redeemed himself with a deep sideline catch over Keith Taylor, but this is an area that needs work.
David Tepper is excited for the season
The team’s owner, for one, seemed pumped to have fans back in the stadium. In classic David Tepper fashion, he responded to a question by team reporter Kristen Balboni about how he feels by simply stating, “It feels pretty frickin’ great!”
Next, the Panthers head back to Spartanburg for a few practices before traveling to Indianapolis for their joint practices with the Colts.
[lawrence-related id=638901]
[vertical-gallery id=638889]