Panthers Seemingly Dodge Major Injury Bullet on Tuesday

As soon as the Carolina Panthers kicked training camp off last week, they got bad injury news. Second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton had to be carted off the field, and it was later revealed he suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

On Tuesday, the Panthers had their first day of padded practice, and everybody held their breath as another second-year player had to be carted off the field. Tight end Mitchell Evans went down and was unable to leave on his own power.

Any time the cart comes out, it's easy to fear the worst. Fortunately, the Panthers seem to have avoided another worst-case scenario.

Dave Canales Provides Encouraging Update on Evans

After Tuesday's practice, Canales was asked about Evans' status.

"They're testing him. It was an ankle injury. Rolled it up," Canales replied. "They're pretty optimistic, but we're gonna do a full evaluation just to make sure there's nothing happening in there. But they were pretty optimistic coming off the field."

That's certainly the best news possible following what looked like a serious injury. It will be interesting to see what the diagnosis is and whether or not Evans will be back at practice this week.

The Panthers certainly need Evans to be healthy. The tight end room is arguably the weakest position group on the team, meaning Evans has a chance to secure a big role. Tommy Tremble and Ja'Tavion Sanders are currently at the top of the depth chart, but neither player has ever had more than 342 yards in a season.

As a rookie in 2025, Evans played in all 17 games and caught 19 passes for 171 yards and two scores. The opportunity is there for Evans to take a step forward in 2026, so it would be very disappointing to lose him for any extended amount of time.

Panthers Being Ravaged by Injuries

It's been a rough several months for the Panthers on the injury front. As mentioned earlier, the team lost Scourton for the year, but that's not even close to the only injury.

Starting tackles Taylor Moton and Ikem Ekwonu are both going to miss at least the beginning of the season. Defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton, and linebackers Trevin Wallace and Thomas Incoom have all been dealing with injuries as well this summer.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like Evans will be the next player added to that list. Here's to hoping the Panthers get through training camp without any more serious injuries.