The Caroline Panthers' season opener against the Chicago Bears just became more difficult after a key member of the team's defense went down with a season-ending injury.
The Chicago Bears will have their first training camp practice next Wednesday at Halas Hall. Head coach Ben Johnson has established the importance of this phase in the NFL calendar, claiming players must "pay a price" during the summer to prepare for the upcoming season.
Training camp is a welcomed time for Johnson and his team, but it's also a reminder of how ruthless the NFL can be.
The Bears will kick off their 2026 season on the road against the Carolina Panthers. With the Panthers playing the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game, the reigning NFC South champions held their first training camp practice on Thursday.
One practice in and the Panthers' defense will look drastically different.
According to reports, Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton tore his ACL in his right knee during the team portion of practice and will miss the 2026 season. National NFL reporter Cameron Wolfe wrote on X that Scourton "was in tears as [the] cart left the field and whole team came to give him a hug when he left. A lot of emotions for key player injury Day 1 of camp."
The Panthers selected Scourton with the 51st overall pick in last year's draft. The 6-foot-2, 257-pound linebacker finished with five sacks, tied for the most on the team. Bears defensive lineman Shemar Turner was Scourton's teammate at Texas A&M. Turner's rookie season ended abruptly after he tore his ACL against the Baltimore Ravens in late October.
Two days before Carolina's first training camp practice, reports surfaced that Panthers' starting right tackle Taylor Moton was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs. He is expected to miss time "into the regular season," according to Adam Schefter.
Panthers starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu will start on the physically unable to perform list to start camp. The former No. 6 overall pick in 2022 tore his patellar tendon during the team's January playoff loss to the Rams last season. Panthers general manager Dan Morgan told reporters that he is optimistic Ekwonu will return but didn't specify on a timeline.
Bears left tackle Ozzy Trapilo ruptured his patellar tendon on the same day as Ekwonu in Chicago's playoff win over the Packers. General manager Ryan Poles said during the NFL Scouting Combine that Trapilo will "miss most of the year, but we expect him to come back and heal from that." Similar to Morgan, Poles couldn't provide an exact timeline on his return.
Training camp usually brings excitement for the new season, but Carolina is getting an early reminder of how unforgiving the NFL can be. Down key players in the trenches, the Panthers face an early test as they reshuffle the depth chart ahead of the September 13 season opener against the Bears.
