With a Monday Night Football game scheduled this week, the Carolina Panthers conducted their customary “Friday” practice on Saturday.
Despite the unconventional timing, the standard late-week protocols remained in place, including the announcement of players ruled out following the third practice of the week.
Panthers Rule Out 3 Starters for Week 12
On Friday’s practice report, starting center Cade Mays was listed (ankle) as a full participant. It was his first mention on any of the week’s reports, but the full participation designation didn’t raise any alarms.
Well, perhaps the alarm did trigger, but silently. Panthers head coach Dave Canales ruled Mays out for Monday night’s Week 12 game. Canales told reporters:
“Yeah, [he] finished practice and just wasn’t quite feeling right. When we looked back at (the film) afterwards, you could see where he was starting to get a little bit tender and sensitive on the ankle. So we evaluated him afterwards, and today just didn’t feel like we could get him turned around, so we’re going to shut him down for this week.”
Carolina has a 5-3 record with Mays as the starting center this season. Canales confirmed that Austin Corbett will start Monday night in Mays’ place. The Panthers have won one of the three games Corbett has started at center this season, with the sole win coming in Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers.
Canales also stated that “the plan right now” is to have reserve center Nick Samac on the game-day roster to serve as backup to Corbett.
While some external observers may view the nine different starting offensive line combinations in 12 games negatively, Canales expressed confidence in his team and their preparation. He made this clear and offered encouragement, stating:
“For me, I’m always looking at opportunities for guys to show us what they can do and how they can help our team win. These are great opportunities for these men, and they work so hard to have these moments to get into games, to help their teammates, to advance their careers. So when they happen, we count on them.”
According to PFSN’s OLi metric, the Panthers’ unit this season has earned an 80.8 score despite the multitude of changes. That score ranks seventh-best in the league.
Starting linebackers Trevin Wallace (shoulder) and Christian Rozeboom (hamstring) have also been officially ruled out for the Panthers this week. Their designations should not come as a surprise, as they missed the entire week of practice.
Canales relayed that the team “didn’t feel like we turned the corner quickly enough to feel confident to put him back out there,” speaking specifically about Wallace.
Practice squad linebacker Krys Barnes will be activated to the game-day roster this week. Claudin Cherelus “will be ready to go” in one of the starting linebacker spots as well.
On depth players being tasked with more defensive responsibilities, Canales emphasized that they’ve made moves like bringing Jacoby Windmon back into the mix, “just making sure we have enough bodies in that room to get that done, and of course, you understand the implication on special teams, making sure we have these guys available to cover kicks.”
The Panthers’ depth defenders will certainly be tested under the bright national lights on Monday Night Football.