Panthers starter has surgery; Coach reacts to waiver wire, practice squad adds
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Panthers traded Adam Thielen to Vikings, reshaping young wide receiver group.
- Left tackle Ickey Ekwonu out day-to-day after Sunday appendectomy procedure.
- Team added WR Dalevon Campbell, DB Damarri Mathis via waiver wire to 53-man roster.
The Carolina Panthers’ roster has transformed a bunch the past few days — from a consequential trade, to two waiver-wire claims, to some intriguing practice-squad additions.
On top of all that? The injury bug bit, too.
Leading all the non-Adam-Thielen-trade roster movement Wednesday was the fact that the Panthers might be without starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu for Week 1. Head coach Dave Canales told reporters Wednesday after practice that he had an appendectomy on Sunday evening — a procedure that kept the 2022 first-round pick out of practice Tuesday and Wednesday and will make him “day-to-day all the way up to the game.”
“He wasn’t feeling good, and then ultimately went to the hospital, and they said, ‘Alright, well we gotta do surgery here,’” Canales said of Ekwonu. “So he had his appendix removed. He’s day-to-day.
“We’ve seen these things turn around in a little over a week. They can be longer. It just depends on each individual body: how you respond to the surgery, how your body heals the right way. So he’s going to be day-to-day all the way up to the game.”
Canales said that Yosh Nijman and Brady Christensen will fill in while Ekwonu recovers. Quarterback Bryce Young reacted to the news Wednesday, too.
“There’s no one who wants to be back on that field more than him,” Young said, adding, “Regardless of who it is, I’m going to have a ton of confidence in whoever gets called up.”
Dave Canales, Bryce Young react to Adam Thielen trade
The Carolina Panthers didn’t let the NFL roster deadline on Tuesday prevent them from wheeling and dealing on Wednesday.
General manager Dan Morgan struck a deal that sent Thielen, the team’s most proven and veteran slot receiver, to the Minnesota Vikings. The team later made two roster additions via the waiver wire — wide receiver Dalevon Campbell and defensive back Damarri Mathis — and then cut 2024 sixth-round draft pick Jaden Crumedy to cap the roster at 53 players. The Panthers assembled their practice squad, too.
But the biggest news, undeniably, was Thielen’s departure from Carolina — the place that has hosted his renaissance the past two seasons.
“The competitive spirit, the toughness, and the energy he brought every day, the professionalism — it really impacted a young group of wideouts and a young coach,” Canales said of the 35-year-old Thielen. “It’s something that I’ll carry with me forever: just to see what it means to him to go out there every day, to get after it.
“I remember him coming off the field in games and being like, ‘At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you call, you gotta make the play.’ Challenging me, challenging the group. That kind of fire, that’ll be missed here.”
The Panthers sent Thielen, a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to Minnesota in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick.
The head coach said that Thielen’s departure presents an opportunity for a young wide receiver room. The Panthers’ seven wideouts now are Tetairoa McMillan (22 years old), Xavier Legette (24), Jalen Coker (23), Jimmy Horn Jr. (22), Brycen Tremayne (25), David Moore (30) and now Dalevon Campbell (23) — an undrafted rookie out of South Carolina the Panthers added via the waiver wire on Wednesday.
“There are guys we’re excited to see play more,” Canales said. “And Jalen Coker is certainly one of those guys. That was our message to all of them: Right after the decisions were made, it’s like, ‘OK, this is an opportunity guys.’ I’m excited to see who steps up for us and who plays in those roles.”
Said Bryce Young: “I couldn’t ask for a better vet receiver to come into the league with. To have those conversations with. To learn from. Again, him as a person, one of the best people I’ve been around and same as a player. ... For us now, that’s the nature of the business. ... We gotta be the best version of the Panthers we can, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Options ‘on the table’ for Hunter Renfrow, Panthers
Canales explained Wednesday why Hunter Renfrow ultimately didn’t make the 53-man roster, citing the fact that he “saw some peaks and I saw some dips in terms of his performance.”
But Canales confirmed, however, that he and the 2021 Pro Bowler have been in “constant communication” the past few weeks — and that he wants to be “a part of Renfrow’s future.”
Canales’ full comments:
“We’ve been in constant communication with Hunter since yesterday,” he said. “He’s talking to his family, he’s talking to his agent, we have a couple of things on the table for him, and we’re just going to keep taking it one day at a time to see where he’s at.
“I just felt like toward the end — the last stretch of what I saw — I want to be able to count on Hunter to be as good as he was the whole time. I saw some peaks and I saw some dips also, in terms of his performance. In fairness to the whole group and in fairness to the team, I just wanted to make sure he knew, ‘I want to be a part of your future; I don’t think right now is the time, initially, for this team.’ He just said, ‘I need to think about what I want to do.’
“So we’re in communication right now, and we’re going to take it day-by-day.”
When asked about what he meant by “options on the table” for Renfrow, Canales left it open to generalities.
“We’re just talking about everything right now,” Canales said. “I just want to be a part of his future. I just told him that. In whatever capacity that is — whether it’s the 53, or practice squad, that was the conversations we left on.”
The Panthers’ waiver-wire claims
Carolina added two players to the team’s 53-man roster from the waiver wire Wednesday. Here’s more about them.
- Dalevon Campbell is an undrafted rookie out of South Carolina — adding to the team’s excess of Gamecock talent from Jaycee Horn to DJ Wonnum to Xavier Legette. In three preseason games with the Chargers, Campbell caught seven passes for 135 yards. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver ran a 4.42 40-yard-dash this spring — giving this receiving corps some much-needed speed. He’ll be the team’s seventh wide receiver after the team traded Thielen Wednesday morning but has notable special teams upside as a gunner on punt coverage.
- Damarri Mathis is yet another leaf on the Ejiro Evero tree who is being reunited with the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. The 5-foot-11, 194-pound cornerback has spent the past three seasons with the Broncos. His rookie year in Denver — the 2022 season under Evero — was his most productive. He played 16 games and added 65 tackles and seven pass deflections. Mathis is most recently coming off a season where he played a reserve role.: 10 games, three total tackles on defense. He played only 80 snaps on defense and 124 snaps on special teams.
Carolina Panthers assemble their practice squad
The Panthers’ practice squad is all set. It’ll consist of 17 players — 16 Americans and one, Maz Mwansa, who takes up a slot reserved for the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
The team confirmed 13 of them — demarcated with an asterisk below — and The Charlotte Observer independently confirmed the four others.
One player of note: The Panthers agreed to terms with quarterback Hendon Hooker, a Greensboro native, on Wednesday. The move essentially ends the Jack Plummer QB3 era in Carolina. Hooker was a 2023 third-round draft pick out of Tennessee and spent the preseason with the Detroit Lions, where he went 22-of-40 for 187 yards and three interceptions.
Take a look at the full list.
- LB Krys Barnes*
- CB Shemar Bartholomew*
- OLB Boogie Basham*
- DE Jared Harrison-Hunte*
- OL Jarrett Kingston*
- LB Maz Mwansa*
- TE Bryce Pierre*
- WR Ja’seem Reed*
- CB Mike Reid*
- DT Sam Roberts*
- OT Mike Tarquin*
- S Trevian Thomas*
- OL Brandon Walton*
- QB Hendon Hooker
- RB Deejay Dallas
- WR Ainias Smith
- DB Kalen King
Quick hits: Good news for Nic Scourton
- There was only one player in a red no-contact jersey on Wednesday, and that was offensive lineman Damien Lewis (shoulder). Tight end Tommy Tremble (back) and outside linebacker Nic Scourton (lung) were both full participants in practice — a positive development for Panthers fans.
- Guard Ja’Tyre Carter, who was cut by the Panthers on Tuesday, passed through waivers unclaimed and has reverted to the Panthers’ injured reserve. The offensive lineman started along the offensive line while Lewis and backup Chandler Zavala were out with injuries. Because he is on IR, he will not count toward the team’s 53-man roster.
- LaBryan Ray, who is officially listed on the team’s injured reserve with a return-to-play designation, was out on the field Wednesday. The defensive lineman’s high ankle sprain didn’t prevent him from working out on the bike and doing some light jogging. He can return to the active roster after missing a minimum of four weeks.
- Cam Newton signed a new multi-year agreement with ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, the network announced. The former Panthers MVP will expand his role on First Take, according to a press release, and make his return Thursday during a live show at Norfolk State University as part of the First Take HBCU tour.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Panthers starter has surgery; Coach reacts to waiver wire, practice squad adds."
