Carolina Panthers star receiver Tetairoa McMillan returned to minicamp drills after a lingering foot injury, forcing Bryce Young to sharpen connections with secondary targets while his top playmaker recovers.
The Carolina Panthers are without their leading receiver on the field for mandatory minicamp this week.
The Panthers’ No. 8 pick in the 2025 draft, Tetairoa McMillan, led the team with 70 receptions for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie campaign.
Via the Panthers website, the team had good news/bad news for McMillian. The receiver was wearing a jersey at Tuesday's practice and ran some indy drills, but was unable to be a full participant as he recovers from a foot injury that kept him out of much of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the offseason program.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said the team is trying to get the young receiver back in shape before he gets on the practice field.
"We're just trying to work him back in," Canales said. "He really hasn't had the full team work right now.
"But he's doing great, and he got a little bit of extra conditioning on the side in a more controlled environment to make sure he's getting his conditioning level there."
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young leaned on McMillian last season, giving him nearly twice as many times (122) as Xavier Legette (64), who received the second-most targets.
Young called McMillian his "security blanket" and is trying to build a connection with his other receiver options while McMillian is on the sidelines.
"Obviously, it's never as fun not having him in there," Young said. "But actually, I was talking to Brad (Idzik, the offensive coordinator) about this on the walk over, I think it can be good for us at this time, at this period where it's about developing. For me, you have a guy like that that's your safety blanket that you know all right, one on one, this is where I want to go, it gives you that opportunity.
"Let's work out some progressions. Let's see everyone run all these routes. Our guys have done a great job of responding. There's no hiccup. We're fortunate to have a lot of guys who can shoulder a lot of roles, and they've been doing a great job stepping up."
Young had his best year in 2025, no doubt thanks to McMillian, throwing for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. With Young looking for a new contract after the season, he'll hope his WR1 is back to full health for the regular season.
