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Panthers HC Dave Canales names WRs who he'll count on in the absence of Chris Brazzell II
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- Panthers HC Dave Canales names WRs who he'll count on in the absence of Chris Brazzell II
The answer to the absence of Carolina Panthers receiver Chris Brazzell II may be on the roster.
Head coach Dave Canales spoke to reporters about the season-ending knee injury to Brazzell for the first time on Friday night, following the team's annual Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium. And with promising designs for the third-round pick now out the window, at least for 2026, Canales was asked by Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer if another wideout—namely, Brycen Tremayne —could help fill the void.
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"The beauty of Brycen is he's a really smart guy," Canales replied. "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."
Tremayne joined the Panthers on a futures deal back in February of 2025. His size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and prowess on special teams helped him work his way up into securing a spot on the initial 53-man roster that season.
By year's end, Tremayne recorded just 264 snaps on offense—amassing 14 receptions for 160 yards. But his ability to line up as an 'X' receiver on the outside, like Brazzell, could open up the slot for the passing game's top target in Tetairoa McMillan .
Canales continued, specifically mentioning veteran David Moore and youngster Ja'seem Reed.
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"We have a great group," he added. "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."
Reed, who is in his second season, has emerged as an early summer standout for Carolina. Before cracking into the NFL as an undrafted rookie last spring, he reeled in 77 catches for 1,052 yards and 12 touchdowns for the University of San Diego in 2024.
Other bottom-of-the-depth-chart candidates who could step up sans Brazzell include free-agent addition John Metchie III and 2025 sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr .
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales names WRs who he'll count on in the absence of Chris Brazzell II
