Panthers 2026 training camp tracker: Top takeaways and observations from Fan Fest

· Yahoo Sports

In a much-needed change of pace from what's been a trying training camp, the Carolina Panthers hosted their annual Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium on Friday night.

Here are our top takeaways and observations from the event . . .

Visit mwafrika.life for more information.

Ending Chris Brazzell's season

On Wednesday, rookie wideout Chris Brazzell went down with a tear of the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee. Contrary to initial reports, which indicated a recovery time of about eight weeks, the Panthers ultimately decided upon season-ending surgery for their 2026 third-round pick.

Head coach Dave Canales explained the path to that outcome.

"We wanted to make sure we did the right thing for Chris, long term," Canales told reporters after practice. "So let's get all the information.

"And as the days went on, what you'd like to do is get initial imaging and then kinda see how it responds the following day and do more testing. And the more information we gathered, with everybody putting their heads together, landed on this is the best course for him, long term, to be able to get the knee stable to get him on the right track."

Brazzell was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day, with undrafted rookie tight end Chamon Metayer signing into the vacated roster spot.

'Big plans' for Xavier Legette

Now that Brazzell is sidelined for the year, the No. 3 spot in the passing game's pecking order has fallen into the lap of Xavier Legette. Canales seems to have some hefty expectations for the 2024 first-round pick in this opportunity.

"It's business as usual for X," he stated. "We have big plans for him, he's got big plans for himself and he's been working hard at it. And again, had a great offseason and carried it right into training camp.

"You saw—he made a couple plays. The timing is there. Bryce [Young] knows him. He understands what we're trying to get done and he's working his butt off. And so, I'm really proud of where he's at and can't wait to see where we go from here."

Legette has been praised for the work he's put in this offseason. He enters his third year having amassed just 84 receptions for 860 yards and seven touchdowns.

Multiplicity in the WR room

Canales also mentioned a few other receivers who could step up in the absence of Brazzell, including Brycen Tremayne.

"The beauty of Brycen is he's a really smart guy," Canales said. "He does a lot of the dirty work. We ask him to go in and dig out safeties, and do different things on run game. But in the pass game, he can play all the spots—and that's really valuable."

"Brycen's one of them, David Moore's another. Ja'seem Reed has been a guy we're really trusting right now with just being able to step in at different spots.

"We have a great group. This room is a very competitive room to start with. We certainly had high hopes for Chris in the way that we can use him in our offense. And while that's not gonna happen this year, we have a bunch of guys that we really count on and trust."

Carolina's wideout room is headlined by 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan and the newly-extended Jalen Coker. In addition to Legette, Tremayne, Moore and Reed, other options to fill out the depth chart include free-agent signee John Metchie III and 2025 sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr.

Top observations

Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.

This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 2026 training camp tracker: Top takeaways and observations from Fan Fest

Read full story at source