CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As the Carolina Panthers executed their padless workout Friday in preparation for Sunday’s NFL matchup against the visiting Buffalo Bills, quarterback Bryce Young again spent most of his time working out in the far corner of the practice fields behind Bank of America Stadium.
It was the third straight day that Young, who injured his ankle during last Sunday’s 13-6 win over the New York Jets, did not take snaps with the first-team offense. The Panthers (4-3), winners of three straight for the first time since 2021, listed Young as doubtful on the week’s final injury report.
“He’s made progress every day,” coach Dave Canales said during Friday’s post-practice news conference. “We want to just keep our options open right now. Didn’t want to rule him out, just wanted to say, ‘OK, you woke up today, it was better than you did yesterday, so tomorrow we’ll move around.’
“We rested it pretty good today. We had two good days of work on that ankle, so we’ll take a look at it again (Saturday) and then we’ll make the best decision from there.”
#Panthers’ players and coaches huddle before Friday’s #NFL practice in preparation for Sunday’s game vs #Bills at Bank of America Stadium … pic.twitter.com/Vl8INWN3iL
— Jeff Hawkins (@WriterHawkins) October 24, 2025
Carolina Panthers Shuffling QBs With Bryce Young Doubtful
If Young cannot start, veteran Andy Dalton will start and Hendon Hooker will serve as the backup, Canales said. Third-stringer Mike White, a former Bill, was signed Tuesday to the practice squad.
“Excited about Hooker, excited about him being here, being in tune with what we’re doing, continuing to do a great job for us when he got his opportunities on the scout stuff,” Canales said. “We needed to get Hendon out there playing, so he carried the load of most of the full practices, but to have Mike available for the walkthroughs, to operate to get the timing of the motion and snap points and really make it come alive, it was excellent, and it was a good opportunity for us to make it look as close as possible to what the concepts may look like in operations. He did a fantastic job.”
#Panthers new third-string, practice-squad QB Hendon Hooker (16) is out to revive his #NFL career after an up-and-down stint with #Lions … pic.twitter.com/hz7uQj2Iva
— Jeff Hawkins (@WriterHawkins) August 28, 2025
Guard Damien Lewis Trending To Return
The offensive line will look different – again.
Well, not totally, but left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) remained on track to returning to the starting lineup against the Bills. Austin Corbett started last Sunday, marking the sixth different unit in the opening seven games.
“He had a great week,” Canales said. “The group did a fantastic job in the training room, getting his strength back in the shoulder. Really, that’s kind of the first thing with any injury, is making sure that we have the range of motion and the strength for the stability part of it, and he had a quick turnaround this week.
“We were able to get him out there. He practiced the whole week, and he looked great, got a great look in his eyes. He’s excited to be back out there.”
#Panthers Prepping Bank of America Stadium’s field for Sunday’s #NFL matchup vs #Bills … pic.twitter.com/2qSEGDzz81
— Jeff Hawkins (@WriterHawkins) October 24, 2025
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