Panthers QB Bryce Young throws two picks — right before Jets’ stout defense arrives

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The Carolina Panthers ’ defense added some heat to their sizzle reel Wednesday before Thursday’s arrival of Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets for joint practice in Charlotte.

A pair of veteran defenders secured turnovers while going up against starting QB Bryce Young and the Carolina offense.

During 11-on-11 drills, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle started off the stretch of reps with a highlight play. He got his hands on a pass from Young at the line of scrimmage and ran up the field as he was surrounded by his offensive teammates.

Later in the drill, Young targeted wide receiver Adam Thielen in the flat on a short out route, and cornerback Troy Hill jumped in front of the wide receiver for a pick-six.

“Offensively, it looked like a great day. We get into the last period of it, we throw an interception early in that part, and it makes everything feel horrible,” head coach Dave Canales said. “But it’s like, nothing’s wasted. It’s a great day of work, but it just goes to show how critical the ball is and why we have to continue to heighten our awareness and our execution.”

The two-pick morning was the third consecutive practice with an interception for Young. He was picked off by undrafted rookie safety Demani Richardson on Monday.

He also threw an interception off his back foot to veteran safety Xavier Woods on Sunday.

“If we’re not throwing interceptions, we’re not trying stuff, we’re not trying to make those tight throws. And we know NFL football is tightly played,” Canales said. “I don’t look too far into it, other than just what happened on this play so we can correct it.”

And while it’d be easy to worry about Young, the defense has consistently made plays during the summer. Young’s recent turnover troubles are somewhat noteworthy, but it seems to be clear that the young QB is trying to test his connections across the field.

The one aspect of Young’s turnovers to monitor is that they are typically coming off scrambles after evading pressure in the pocket. Instead of just throwing the ball away or to the sideline, Young is taking advantage of the practice setting and experimenting with his arm. There have been some good results with those risks, but this stretch of practices has led to some notable lowlights.

Injury updates: Diontae Johnson added to sideline crew

The Panthers have several notable players on the sideline at the moment. Wednesday, the team added No. 1 wideout Diontae Johnson to the list of spectators.

Following practice, Canales said Johnson has a minor groin injury. Cornerback Dane Jackson also left practice early, and Canales said he is being examined for a hamstring pull.

While left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder/personal) returned to the field on Wednesday, he didn’t take part in drills. Canales said Lewis’s absence from drills was largely due to a conditioning plan.

Safeties Xavier Woods (groin) and Sam Franklin (foot), center Cade Mays (shoulder), offensive tackle Badara Traore (knee) and defensive end Jaden Crumedy (ankle) were not on the field. Outside linebackers K’Lavon Chaisson (undisclosed) and Cam Gill (hand) and tight end Ian Thomas (calf) were on the sideline but didn’t take part in drills.

Running back Jonathon Brooks (ACL) remains on the active/non-football injury (NFI) list . Offensive tackle Yosh Nijman (leg) and outside linebackers D.J. Wonnum (quad) and Amare Barno (ACL) remain on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

Good sign for returning players: Legette has a highlight

Linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring) and wide receiver Xavier Legette (foot) returned to individual drills on Monday. On Wednesday, the pair worked back into the mix during 11-on-11 drills .

Legette got work with the first-team offense and actually had a highlight catch over the middle. Young fired a laser over the middle that was a tad off the mark, and Legette still made the catch for a big gain to the ground. Legette looked fast as he ran routes, which is a good sign.

Thompson appeared to be fully immersed in the first-team defense. He played in coverage and got involved in the run game as well.

Tight end Tommy Tremble (hamstring) continued to work in individual drills after returning Monday. Backup quarterback Andy Dalton (quad) also took part in individual work as a passer.

Offensive play of the day: Mingo comes up big on downfield pass

While the defense clearly won the day, the Panthers’ offense did have a highlight in the workout.

Young launched a deep ball — which was tipped at the line — roughly 35 to 40 yards down the field before it started to flutter to the ground. Wideout Jonathan Mingo was streaking down the field for the target, but he noticed the ball was fluttering and came back to it. He was able to get around the defensive back in coverage and bring the ball in for a deep completion.

“We love emphasizing scrambles,” Canales said. “There are great plays out there, there’s more, there’s explosives that can happen on the second part of the play. … The offense extending those plays (also) trains the defense. You have to continue to cover beyond your original assignment.”

The play showed excellent awareness by Mingo, who is having a strong camp. Young’s trajectory was altered by the tip at the line, but the ball still did make it down the field for a big gain.

This play was made without Johnson, the team’s top deep threat on the field.

Quick hits

▪ Following practice, cornerbacks D’Shawn Jamison and Dicaprio Bootle worked on their coverage technique with No. 1 cornerback Jaycee Horn. Tremble and running back Chuba Hubbard did their typically post-workout JUGs sessions .

▪ Former Jets GM John Idzik was in attendance for practice. His son, Brad, is the Panthers’ first-year offensive coordinator.

▪ Rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders made an excellent acrobatic touchdown catch in red-zone 1-on-1 drills. Sanders was smothered by a defensive back and still made a falling one-handed catch. Rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker also made an impressive diving grab in tight coverage during the same session.

▪ Defensive lineman T.J. Smith — having a terrific camp, by the way — got a pressure that would have been a sack in a real game during 11-on-11 work. Pass rusher Luiji Vilain got a pressure around the edge on the very next play. Vilain has emerged a bit over the past few practices.

▪ Cornerback Lamar Jackson had a pass breakup during team drills. He has built up his stock quite a bit over the past two weeks.

▪ Former Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers defensive back Rudy Ford worked out for the Panthers following practice. He was later signed to the 90-man roster with safety Clayton Isbell being waived in a corresponding move.

▪ Eddy Piñeiro went 3-for-5 on field goals during Wednesday’s practice after effectively winning the Panthers’ kicking competition with Harrison Mevis’ departure on Sunday. He capped the practice with an extra point conversion following a touchdown drive led by Jack Plummer in the final session of 11-on-11 drills.

▪ Canales and Thompson both said they hope to avoid the fights and confrontations that can flare up in the commonly spirited joint practices during tomorrow’s session with the Jets. “All the stuff in between, we can’t give the opponent anything. Those things turn into personal fouls, those flip the field, those put us in bad situations,” Canales said.

▪ Tremble and Thompson are also excited to take on new competition on Thursday, with the latter saying that his younger teammates will have a great opportunity to “see a Hall of Famer practice” when they go up against Rodgers.

▪ Follow Observer reporters Mike Kaye ( @mike_e_kaye ) and Alex Zietlow ( @alexzietlow05 ), and columnist Scott Fowler ( @scott_fowler ), on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the Panthers’ latest news and highlights.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Young had two interceptions on Monday but he actually had just one interception in that practice.