Why are the Carolina Panthers not playing starters during the preseason

The Carolina Panthers made a bold decision ahead of their preseason matchup against the New York Jets, opting to rest a staggering 38 players, including all starters. In a similar move, the Jets also chose to sit their key players, setting the stage for a game that lacked the star power fans might have anticipated.

The absence of marquee players like Bryce Young and Aaron Rodgers led to a matchup featuring backups. Predictably, the game turned into a low-scoring affair, with neither team managing more than 3.5 yards per play. The only touchdown came in the closing seconds when Panthers rookie running back Dillon Johnson found the end zone, though it did little to change the outcome as Carolina fell 15-12.

The Panthers' decision to rest so many players sparked some concern among fans, particularly with no significant starters seeing action so far this preseason. However, head coach Dave Canales defended the strategy, emphasizing the importance of preserving player health. “Really just looking at the guys, the health of the whole unit," stated Canales following the game. “It all depends on how practice goes, it all depends on the depth of the guys we have to finish games. Again, that's really just where my head was at. If we throw a group out there, but we're missing a bunch of pieces, it's not really giving us the full look at working together and doing that. I wanna make sure that they're able to do that together."

Canales is worried about the regular season, as he should be. He wants to figure out the back end of the roster, which is really what training camp and the preseason are about. The Panthers were able to get in plenty of reps for the starters during the joint practice with the Jets leading up to the Week 2 preseason game.