For the second time this week, Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers have been dealt a devastating blow.
The Panthers took the field this Thursday for the first official day of training camp. While the NFC South champions were conducting team drills, second-year outside linebacker Nic Scourton went down with a lower body injury.
NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe said Scourton "was in tears" as he was being carted off the practice field. All of his teammates reportedly gave him a hug before he was taken back to the facility for an evaluation.
"They care about each other," Canales said in regards to Scourton's injury. "Whenever you're in a group of people doing something hard together, it has a way of creating a special bond. Between all the workouts and going through a full season and an offseason and all that, it means something to the guys. I'm proud of that."
If Scourton ends up missing an extended period of time for the Panthers, that'd be a huge hit to their defense. Although he only started in eight games as a rookie, he racked up 47 tackles, nine QB hits, five sacks and a forced fumble.
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images.
The Panthers also lost a key player on offense.
Just two days ago, the Panthers placed offensive tackle Taylor Moton on the non-football injury list. This decision was made after he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lung.
Moton was reliable for the Panthers last season, starting in 15 of 17 games. Overall, he has appeared in 145 games since the 2017 season.
Rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, who was selected with the No. 18 pick in this year's draft, is expected to replace Moton in the starting lineup.
With Moton and Scourton now out of the picture, Carolina's depth chart isn't looking nearly as good as it did a week ago.
