Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young won't play in Thursday's preseason opener against the host New England Patriots, head coach Dave Canales announced.
Canales previously has voiced his intention of keeping Young healthy heading into the latter's second NFL season.
"Bryce will not play (on Thursday)," Canales said on Tuesday. "We'll take that kinda week to week and get a sense for, ‘Do we need to get him out there in this system and get a couple of series?' That's something that I've done in the past. We've done both. So for this game, he will not play."
Undrafted rookie Jack Plummer and recently signed Jake Luton are expected to take bulk of the snaps on Thursday with backup Andy Dalton nursing a quad injury.
Young, 23, completed just 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 16 games last season. He was the top overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
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Las Vegas Raiders WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. is opening eyes at training camp, including QB Geno Smith, who appears to be trusting the rookie. Maybe that is the reason why general manager John Spytek has not looked for outside help at the position. And just maybe he got a steal from the 2025 NFL Draft. That looked evident on the first day of pads in Henderson, Nevada, where Thornton badly beat fellow rookie cornerback Darien Porter for a long touchdown, as described by The Athletic's Tashan Reed. In a piece, Reed said Thornton has been the first-string "X" receiver since OTAs and "could make an immediate impact." Thornton shared what Smith told him during training camp: "He tells me every single day, 'if you've got a one-on-one matchup, I'm coming to you,'" Smith said, as shared by Reed. "It means a lot to me. Being a rookie and just getting here ... just knowing that he believes in me a lot. It gives me a lot of motivation to keep getting better." While the headlines are more on rookie RB Ashton Jeanty for his potential big season, Thornton is making sure he is not forgotten after getting selected in the fourth round (108th overall) after leading the University of Tennessee with 661 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Thornton is getting all the opportunities he can get, given the Raiders didn't bother to add a veteran WR. One could see why Thornton is raising eyebrows in training camp. That is a good thing because Smith is trusting Thornton's potential playmaking abilities. Thornton is one of the tallest Raiders WRs besides Collin Johnson, and that could be a big deal given the Raiders need a big target minus TEs Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Ian Thomas. Yet, ESPN's Mike Clay is projecting Thornton to have a quiet year with 317 receiving yards and a TD. With such low numbers, maybe that is how the Raiders would prefer it to be, anyway. Only the Raiders know what they have in Thornton. It is up to Thornton to keep the momentum going into preseason games and beyond.
Recent league rumblings suggested that the Sacramento Kings will be signing Russell Westbrook to bolster their backcourt depth. While signing the nine-time All-Star would certainly be in their interest, the Kings appear to have other priorities in mind. Sacramento has been particularly active in trade talks this offseason. From being involved in negotiations for Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga to supposedly facilitating a trade for DeMar DeRozan, the Kings will be making some changes. Westbrook's arrival is imminent, as his agent, Jeff Schwarz, has been in constant communication with the Kings' front office. However, the organization is reportedly aiming to complete trades involving Malik Monk and Devin Carter before moving forward with Westbrook, per ABC10's Matt George. The trade market for Monk and Carter hasn’t been promising. Carter has been mentioned as the central figure in Sacramento's trade package for Kuminga. The Warriors haven't viewed this favorably, as they have shown an interest in Keon Ellis instead. Meanwhile, the Kings' decision to trade Monk is an intriguing one, especially in light of the season he had. Primarily acting as a bench player, the guard put up 17.2 points and 5.6 assists per night, while shooting 43.9% from the field and 32.5% from beyond the arc. At only 26 years old, Monk has proven himself a valuable contributor with his athleticism and shot-making ability. This move seems driven by roster imbalance and cap constraints. With a crowded backcourt and limited cap space, the Kings have been forced to make tough choices. Facilitating a trade for the guard has proven to be a challenge. Even though trade efforts for Monk began earlier this month, Sacramento hasn’t made much progress. While this could complicate matters under normal circumstances, it likely won’t derail Westbrook’s eventual signing. Apart from a few teams, the 36-year-old hadn't garnered much interest for his talents. When considering that the market for Westbrook was held up by Ben Simmons' pending decision to sign with a team, it is evident that Sacramento took a more proactive approach. This could have positive results in light of the season the veteran guard had. Coming off a solid season with the Denver Nuggets, Westbrook showcased that he could be perceived as a reliable floor general even at this stage in his career. For the 2024-25 season, he put up an average of 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists, while shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.3% from three-point range. He also showed that he could shine in a more prominent role, drawing on the task of being a starter in Jamal Murray's absence. That stretch led to a modest boost in production, reinforcing his value on a playoff-caliber team. Sacramento hasn’t made its direction for the upcoming season entirely clear. But given the current roster construction, a top-10 finish in the West seems unlikely.
CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Clase is officially off the trading block, and not for the reasons the Cleveland Guardians might have hoped. After Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB’s sports-betting investigation on Monday, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti acknowledged that the high-profile closer wouldn't be a part of any trades before the upcoming MLB trade deadline later this week. "No," Antonetti responded to reporters on Monday afternoon when asked if Clase would potentially be traded. It's a blow to the Guardians, who likely could have received a loaded return had they chosen to move the 27-year-old right-hander. However, with MLB's investigation underway, Clase is now on leave until Aug. 31. It is Major League Baseball's second look at the franchise in terms of potential sports betting following Luis Ortiz being placed on the same kind of leave earlier in July. That means Cleveland is down two relievers, including Clase and his 24 saves posted so far this season. "I think what's important is that we understand what the reality is and figure out how do we move forward from here," Antonetti said. "That's really the focus. "Both guys won't be available to us in the near term, and we need to figure out a way to overcome that. It's not too dissimilar to the moment when players are injured and they're not available to us. We have to find the next group to step up and shoulder a load and find a way to win games. That's really what we're focused on." Antonetti also told reporters that the two relievers will be the last Cleveland players investigated for this type of potential infringement. "We've been informed by Major League Baseball. They were very clear to let us know that they don't expect any other players or staff members," Antonetti said. While Clase may not be off the trading list, Antonetti told reporters it was still very "active" in terms of other teams reaching out to the Guardians around the 6 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday trade deadline. "We're in constant dialogue with a lot of teams," Antonetti said. "We had a lot of dialogue up through this morning and certainly had dialogue over the last few hours. My expectation is that it will continue over the next few days." Antonetti didn't offer a timeline in terms of when Cleveland might hear official rulings from MLB on the investigations. "What I know is that the suspensions are in place through August 31 and then we'll have to see where things are happening," Antonetti said. "Obviously, for everyone, I think you'd prefer to have the clarity sooner rather than later. But I recognize it's a complicated issue and usually baseball has a number of steps they need to work through to complete that investigation." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
The Green Bay Packers decided to cut cornerback Jaire Alexander last month, a rather frustrating move considering the Packers didn’t really have much of an answer to replace him. One of the primary reasons Green Bay released Alexander was because of his inability to stay healthy, as the two-time Pro Bowler played in just 14 games over the last two seasons and 34 over the last four. He refused to take a pay cut, and the Packers did not feel justified paying that much money for a guy who was rarely on the field. Well, Green Bay was kind of validated in its decision to move on from Alexander in training camp, as the 28-year-old is already sidelined in Baltimore Ravens camp due to swelling in his knee, via Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap. Alexander is going to have his knee drained and is expected to practice on Tuesday, but the fact that he is already experiencing injury issues in Baltimore is evidence that the Packers made the right move. Of course, it would have been nice if Green Bay cut Alexander back in March rather than in June, as it would have given the team a better opportunity to add another cornerback, either via free agency or the NFL Draft. Yes, the Packers signed Nate Hobbs, but the general consensus at the time was that he was being added to play alongside of Alexander; not to replace him. Green Bay has very limited proven depth at the position, and had the Packers known for sure they would be parting ways with Alexander earlier in the offseason, perhaps they would have been more inclined to bring in another corner. When healthy, Alexander is terrific. During his last healthy campaign in 2022, he racked up 56 tackles, five interceptions and 14 passes defended en route to a Pro Bowl appearance, but that’s just the thing: it’s rare that the former first-round pick isn’t dealing with some sort of injury.
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