Panthers

• Regarding Panthers QB Bryce Young‘s future, Joseph Person of The Athletic thinks it will be an easy decision to pick up his fifth-year option for 2027 of $26.5 million, considering that the top 11 quarterbacks in the league make over $50 million per year.
• If Young continues ascending in 2026, Person thinks the quarterback will be in for a big payday.  
• As for whether Carolina will bring back impending free agent RB Rico Dowdle, Person is skeptical about the Panthers going into 2026 with Jonathan Brooks and Trevor Etienne as Chuba Hubbard‘s primary backups. However, re-signing Dowdle will ultimately depend on the market he demands as an unrestricted free agent and how much the Panthers want to invest in the position. 

Saints

• Saints HC Kellen Moore said there’s “potential for missed time” with DB Justin Reid‘s knee injury. (Katherine Terrell)
• Reid is not expected to go on injured reserve, though. (Nick Underhill)
• Saints WR Chris Olave is dealing with a back injury, per Moore, while OT Taliese Fuaga is dealing with an ankle injury. (Underhill)
• Fuaga’s ankle injury is a different ankle than the one he previously injured this year. (Terrell)

Cam Jordan

Saints DE Cam Jordan called former DL coach Todd Grantham “the worst D-Line coach of his life” and was motivated to prove he still had a lot left to offer at this stage in his career.

“I was reenergized [starting] last year. Yeah I was. I didn’t think so. I was like, ‘They’re trying to put me out to pasture,‘” Jordan said, via ESPN. “I got enraged and once you get enraged, you realize it comes from a place of passion. I was like, ‘No, I’ve got too much love for this game.’”

Jordan said once Grantham left he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Once the position coach left, it’s like the light opened up,” Jordan said. “It was like, ‘Hey Cam, we’ll give you a chance.’ That’s all I’ve ever asked.”

Saints DC Brandon Staley has said that Jordan’s ability to adapt has helped make him successful.

“It’s just a testament to him that he can do anything,” Staley said. “What he is doing now is he’s really, I think, in a comfort zone within the scheme. And then now you’re seeing the playmaking, that rush with the strip sack, that’s textbook Cam Jordan. But I also thought there were a lot of little things in there in the run game where it was also textbook Cam Jordan in a different scheme, but doing it the same way that he’s always done.”

Jordan added that he’s committed to the team, even if he’s on the back-end of his career and the Saints are in the middle of a rebuild.

“My goal is to win. Sitting at 2-10 and the team has always incentivized some part of my contract. I’ve never once played for those incentives,” Jordan said.