The Carolina Panthers returned to practice on Monday after their bye week, with players and coaches focused on the remainder of the season. The team is currently tied for first place in their division with Tampa Bay at 7-6, following a New Orleans victory over the Buccaneers.
Head coach Dave Canales addressed the team’s mindset as they prepare for an important stretch of games. “The work brings us back,” Canales said. “It was a really excited group to be back out there, with the great opponent coming up this week, and knowing especially how tough the Saints played us last time, the guys are really excited about the opportunity.
“We have to get back to football, and I hope that the group understands at this point in the season, every week is a championship opportunity. It truly is, and we have everything in front of us right now, so we’re excited to get back to work.”
Canales noted that maintaining consistency has been a challenge throughout the season. After defeating Green Bay in Week 9, Carolina lost at home to New Orleans before rebounding against Atlanta and later suffering another defeat by San Francisco. He emphasized focusing on daily improvement: “That’s the greatest challenge for all of us across the league,” Canales said. “It’s the ability to refocus, the ability to take it one week at a time and one day at a time, because that process leads to good results and making sure you capture those days. No day is less important than the other. We have to make sure we go through a great process. Everyone’s focused, locked in, and finishing up with the weight room session after practice.
“It’s like, hey, the day is not over, there’s great work in there too, and how you do anything is how you do everything. And that’s got to be the mentality, and that’s the sign of maturity that I’m looking for from this group is to continue to just build off of wins… but also just making sure that we have the right focus for the task at hand.”
On Monday, several key players returned or showed progress toward returning from injuries. Jaycee Horn and Claudin Cherelus remain in concussion protocol but are reportedly improving ahead of this week’s game. Linebacker Christian Rozeboom and center Cade Mays participated in practice after absences due to injury; Tre’von Moehrig also rejoined following suspension.
“It’s huge right now,” Canales said regarding player availability. “And we would have loved to have had Jaycee and Claud and Tre out there on Sunday… but we’re excited to get all those guys back on the field.”
However, offensive lineman Robert Hunt remains sidelined as his practice window will not open this week.
Rozeboom discussed his recent injury sustained during Week 11 against Atlanta—a hip issue followed by a hamstring pull—which kept him out for two games including matchups against San Francisco and Los Angeles Rams (his former team). He credited trainers with prioritizing long-term health: “Obviously it was—like it was fun to watch and then to win and all that. I’ll take a win and not play one down any day… So just kind of make the best decision for the team and being healthy going forward.”
He added that having a late-season bye helped his recovery: “Kind of when it happened is knowing that that bye week was in third week of it… Never had a bye week that late but in this case it ended up kind of working out for me.”
With both starting linebackers expected healthy—Rozeboom joined by Trevin Wallace—the Panthers look ahead toward facing New Orleans again on Sunday. Rozeboom highlighted defensive priorities: “Just staying connected with rush; staying connected on back end because plays are going extend—and that’s every week… We’ve got be connected do our job no matter who we’re playing especially this week…”
