Panthers name 5 captains, with Lloyd and Hubbard first-timers
Devin Lloyd earned his first captaincy in a linebacker room that just added Bobby Okereke, and GM Dan Morgan says the plan is for the two to start together against the Bears.
Okereke's new locker room just handed his running mate the C
Bobby Okereke took his first padded practice as a Panther this week, and the front office has been clear about what it wants from it: general manager Dan Morgan's plan all along was for Okereke to start next to Devin Lloyd at inside linebacker, and if Lloyd's knee keeps him out of the opener, Okereke is the one who steps into the bigger workload, Panthers.com reported. Okereke, for his part, is already talking like he's found the right building — "it's a linebacker's dream to play, with a D-line as stout as this and to play with a secondary that's as talented as this one," he told Charlotte reporters, calling the move to Carolina "a cool full circle moment."
Your 2026 Captains! QB Bryce Young RB Chuba Hubbard DT Derrick Brown LB Devin Lloyd LS JJ Jansen Read more: t.co/4l0pU7JWkL
The pairing got a little more interesting Thursday when the Panthers named their 2026 captains: Bryce Young and long snapper JJ Jansen for a fourth time each, Derrick Brown for a third year, and Chuba Hubbard and Devin Lloyd both wearing the C for the first time in their careers. Lloyd, who sat out Wednesday's practice with the knee that has him questionable, per Nick Carboni of WCNC Charlotte, is now the guy the room voted to lead it in year one of a defense that just brought in a 30-year-old, 143-tackle running mate to stand next to him.
Panthers close preseason 3-1 after grinding past Houston
Carolina closed out the preseason at 3-1 with a 16-13 win over Houston on August 28 at Bank of America Stadium, leading 6-3 at the half before the reserves ground it out the rest of the way. It followed the shape of the whole exhibition slate: a lopsided loss at Buffalo, a 34-17 romp at Jacksonville, then a tight one to close it out at home.
Texans16-13
Jaguars34-17
Bills14-29The box score belonged to the depth pieces jockeying for jobs that no longer exist. John Metchie III caught one of three targets for 5 yards and added two kickoff returns for 47 yards, Jimmy Horn Jr. caught his only target for 5 yards and carried once for 6, and AJ Dillon ran six times for 12 yards and caught three of four targets for 20 out of the backfield. The roster is set now and the preseason thread closes here — Dillon's audition worked, and he locked down the third running back spot on the 53-man roster, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.
Hubbard, Brooks still splitting the backfield with 6 days to go
Jonathon Brooks sat out Tuesday's practice with what coach Dave Canales called general soreness, but Canales told reporters Wednesday he is "very optimistic" Brooks will be ready for the Bears, per Sheena Quick of Fox Sports Radio 1340. Chuba Hubbard, working back from the hamstring that dogged him through camp, returned to practice the same day, per Joe Person of The Athletic, who added on X that Brooks had "gotten a lot of reps the last couple of weeks while Hubbard was out" — reading the absence as a veteran getting rest rather than a new issue.
The plan the staff has described all camp is a real committee rather than a clear No. 1: Hubbard as the between-the-tackles grinder, Brooks — working back from a second torn ACL — as the more explosive change of pace, both drawing real touches in the opener, with Dillon now locked in behind them as the third piece. It is the one meaningful thing about this roster that Labor Day weekend did not settle, and it will not be settled until the Bears are actually lined up across from them.
A Bears offense built to score in bunches opens the season here
Sunday afternoon vs. the Bears brings Chicago to Bank of America Stadium off a 24-15 preseason win at the Titans that closed out its own 2-1 exhibition slate. It's year two of Ben Johnson's offense in Chicago, and Johnson has been open about wanting to break scoring records with Caleb Williams behind center — Johnson has also said he doesn't need to test Williams in preseason games to feel good about him being ready for Week 1, a sign of how much confidence the staff already has in the quarterback heading into the opener.
The line opened with the Bears favored by 2.5 points, and the total was set at 47.5 — middling, for a game that pairs a defense adding a captain and a new starting linebacker with an offense trying to prove last year's late-game heroics weren't a fluke. Carolina opens as the home underdog in its own building, in front of a crowd that just watched its preseason close out 3-1.