The Carolina Panthers suited up for 2026 training camp one last time on Wednesday, in a joint practice with the Houston Texans . And unfortunately, they didn't end their series of summer workouts on the highest of notes.
Here are the top takeaways and observations from this morning's session . . .
The Texans defense, which finished 2025 as the NFL's top overall unit, proved to be too tough a test for the Panthers' starting offense.
Due in large part to the tandem of Pro Bowl pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson, Houston tallied seven would-be sacks on the day. And speaking of pairs, quarterback Bryce Young threw two interceptions to safety Calen Bullock.
Head coach Dave Canales did not mince words about the performance, but also offered up a positive outlook on the experience.
"Yeah, it was pretty lopsided today, I'll be honest," Canales told reporters after practice. "I would say that—in general, over camp—I'm very excited about where we're at as an offense in our scheme, the variation in the run game, the actions tied into that, the drop-back pass game, Bryce's rhythm with a lot of our guys.
"Today did not show that. Today, there was a couple of flashes of some nice throws and catches, but that was a good group today. Again, I try not to just take it all in a microcosm—but if we wanna be good, we have to be able to play against teams like this."
Panthers right tackle Monroe Freeling seemed to be one of the primary victims of that suffocating Texans defense. But Canales, like he did with the offense as a whole, presented a half-full glass for the rookie hog molly.
"Oh, it's fantastic," he said of Freeling facing Hunter and Anderson. "This is what Monroe needs. As he works his fundamentals, his technique, all the little different things—it just gets magnified when you play two rushers like this."
Canales added that Freeling will have to learn from his rough showing.
"It's just right to the film," he later stated. "And it's good, and bad. As I talked to the group afterwards, these are such valuable opportunities—to be able to go against a new group with a different skill set, to be able to see those things.
"He'll go right into the film right now with Coach [Joe] Gilbert and the o-line, and they'll work on those things, clean it up and we'll go from there."
Canales and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans agreed not to roll out their starters against one another for Friday's preseason finale.
"Decided the amount of work we were gonna get them—this practice really got the starters a ton of reps," he said .
"They took about 75 percent of the snaps, with the twos and threes kinda getting a little bit of work—just to make sure their bodies are moving and they're in the rhythm of it. But those guys will finish it out for us, and a great opportunity for them to compete and show us what they got."
The Panthers' first-team offense ended their preseason run with a seven-play, 58-yard touchdown drive in last Friday's 34-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers 2026 training camp tracker: Top takeaways from joint practice with Texans
