Each day we will try and give you all a short synopsis of what happened during camp on any given day. Think of it as your summary if you missed most of the action throughout the day either live or on Twitter. Here are the notes for today’s session:
Injuries and Absences
- Captain Munnerlyn - Hamstring strain, worked on stationary bike
- Devin Funchess - Left practice with cramps
Notes
- This was a non-contact practice, so there isn’t much to speak of in the way of updates for linemen on either side of the ball.
- Cam Newton made his throwing debut and looked pretty sharp outside of one interception where James Bradberry picked him off on an out route intended for Russel Shepard. Otherwise, his throws had good velocity and a tight spiral. Rivera indicated that Cam IS on a pitch count, however.
- Speaking of James Bradberry, he is still out there in a cast... and still making interceptions regardless. He was in every receivers hip pocket all night. What a great draft pick. Someone should get a lot of credit for finding this kid.
- Christian McCaffrey made eyes pop and heads turn with his speed and agility, but keep in mind, right now the defense is not allowed to tackle. Still... the kid is a blur out there.
- Kelvin Benjamin reported by several sources to be lean and in shape, possibly the leanest he has been since coming to Carolina. So... can we drop this non-story from the off-season now?
- Curtis Samuel has a lot of burst off the line and out of his breaks, but did drop one very catch-able ball on a stop and go route.
- Update on the kicking competition: Graham Gano, 4/5, long of 56. Harrison Butker, 2/4, missed a 49 and 56 wide right. No short misses is important for the youngster with a big leg.. but to beat out the incumbent, he’ll need to show he provides a distance advantage on a regular basis.
- Austin Duke made a massive splash play, laying out completely down the sideline for a 50 yard Joe Webb pass and bringing it in. Cam Newton was extremely enthused by this and ran across the field to congratulate and encourage the young rookie. This was a total disruption to practice, further showing why Cam Newton is not a leader or role model. For Duke’s part, with Charles Johnson the younger landing on injured reserve after being waived, there is a chance he could steal his way onto the roster. Would need a big play in preseason game action, by my estimation.
- Keyarris Garrett is keeping his name in the conversation for the bottom of the roster as well. Catching everything, earning praise from the coaches.
- Mario Addison and Julius Peppers were the starting DEs, though there is speculation the Charles Johnson was on a snap count as well. You can probably think of the group as a starting three man rotation on any given series.
- Free Agent Safety acquisition Mike Adams made a nice diving interception of a pass tipped by James Bradberry intended for Curtis Samuel. If he can be just a hair better than Roman Harper was (shouldn’t be too hard) then this defensive unit is gonna be pretty good overall by my estimation.