Panthers G Robert Hunt is asked the center competition between Austin Corbett, Cade Mays
The Pro Bowl hog molly chatted with reporters this afternoon, a day before he and the rest of the team embark on their first outing of training camp. Hunt talked about the competition at the center position between Corbett and Mays, which may end up as the biggest battle of the summer for the Panthers.
"Because I played with both of them, I kinda know the tendencies of both guys," he said of his chemistry with Corbett and Mays. "I'll let those guys compete. I wish both of them the best. At the end of the day, we're trying to win games and both of those guys know that. Both of them are capable of playing on any team in this league."
Hunt started out the year next to Corbett, who transitioned from guard last offseason. But that version of the offensive line ended after just five games, when Corbett sustained a season-ending biceps injury.
That opened the door for Mays, who went on to start at center in eight of Carolina's final nine contests. The former sixth-round pick gave an awfully good account of himself in that role too, helping fuel a second-half resurgence for quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers offense.
As an added motivator, neither man is under contract beyond the upcoming campaign. So there may be more than just a job at stake in the coming weeks.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
29 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Another hug for Chris Grier?With five pickups, Dolphins make the best of a bad situation
Cornerback Cornell Armstrong, drafted by the Dolphins seven years ago, gave Chris Grier a 'big hug' when they visited before Armstrong tried out for the Dolphins this week. Dolphins fans might not want to go as far as giving the team's maligned, beleaguered general manager a big hug, but give the man his due for making the best of a distressing situation. Flash back to early June. At that time, the Dolphins knew that Jalen Ramsey wanted out, that Jonnu Smith craved the type of money that the team was unwilling to give him and that Terron Armstead was retiring. Every remaining free agent cornerback had blemishes. Grier found a solution - an adequate one at the very least, perhaps better than adequate - by flipping Ramsey and Smith for Minkah Fitzpatrick, a former Pro Bowl safety coming off something of a down year but still in his prime at 29. He found a tight end (Darren Waller) who spent the past year in retirement but has a better career body of work than any free agent at the position, a player that Giants coaches and media raved during 2023 training camp, before he was injured. On Tuesday, he signed Daniel Bruskill, arguably the best unsigned center/guard, giving Miami a competent veteran who started 10 games for Tennessee last season and 66 in his career. He's better than anyone Miami had under contract to replace Aaron Brewer, James Daniels or Jonah Savanaiinaea if any of those three starters is injured. And on Saturday, he augmented what had been the league's worst cornerback room by signing two decent starters who have experienced success in the league - nickel corner Mike Hilton and Jack Jones, who was beaten too often for the Raiders last season but was very good earlier in this career for New England and young enough, at 24, to be salvaged. (Grier also added Armstrong, who had some good moments earlier in his career, but he hasn't played in the league the past two seasons and it's questionable if he will even make the team.) Now let's not get carried away. Josh Allen's Bills aren't quivering in their boots after Miami's five summer additions. This is still a wild card contender, nothing more. But it's a wild card contender clearly better positioned than it was five weeks ago, when it appeared that Miami might only be able to secure a future draft pick for Ramsey. The Dolphins turned to Jones after former Bills starter Rasul Douglas on Thursday again declined a Miami offer that had been on the table for 10 weeks. There isn't an appreciable difference between the two. Both Jones and Douglas struggled last season. Jones, 27, has the advantage of being three years younger. Jones was beaten for far too many touchdowns last season (a league-high 10, according to Pro Football Focus; 8, according to Pro Football Reference), but he also intercepted three passes and has seven interceptions and 73 passes defended in three seasons. His career passer rating against (84.9, per PFF) is good and he held quarterbacks to a sterling 63 rating in his coverage area for the Raiders in 2023. And he permitted just two passing touchdowns combined in 2022 and 2023. There are maturity questions - he missed curfew a week before the Patriots released him in 2023 - but the ball-hawking skills are he's young enough to get his career back on track. Hilton was the best nickel corner available, and the only question is why Miami didn't sign him before Kohou left with an undisclosed leg injury Saturday. (Kohou walked away gingerly without a pronounced limp.) 'Mike Hilton has been a damn good slot corner in the league for years now and can defend the run at a high level as well,' Pro Football Focus analyst Ryan Smith said. 'He's getting older but still a difference-maker in the secondary.' Hilton, 31, wasn't one of the primary culprits in the Bengals' defensive unraveling last season. He allowed three TDs, but his passer rating against (92) wasn't awful. PFF rated him the 16th best cornerback in the NFL last season and the best against the run. He has 13 interceptions and 56 pass breakups and a very solid 82 career passer rating against, per Pro Football Reference. He's a skilled blitzer; in 275 career pass rushes, he has 11 sacks and 11.5 quarterback pressures. Let's be real: All of the available cornerbacks at this stage of free agency have warts. Asante Samuel Jr., whom the Dolphins have checked in on over the offseason, is working his way back from a neck injury. James Bradberry has much to prove off a torn Achilles. Stephon Gilmore, 34, has entered his career twilight. Xavien Howard isn't desperate to return to the game. Among healthy players remaining in free agency, Jones and Hilton are pretty much as good as it gets. Corner is still a concern - certainly not a strength. But at least Miami has pieced together a potentially serviceable secondary, with Fitzpatrick and either Ifeatu Melifonwu or Ashtyn Davis at the other safety spot and a potential top-three cornerback group of Kohou (now freed up to play on the boundary), Jones and Hilton at nickel. The young cornerbacks all will get a chance to crack that group, including Cam Smith, Storm Duck, BJ Adams, Ethan Robinson and fifth-rounder Jason Marshall Jr., who had an impressive pick-six on a Quinn Ewers pass Saturday. The secondary is still a concern, but it's not the grotesque disaster that it was weeks ago. The remainder of the defense should be pretty good, especially if first-round defensive lineman Kenneth Grant can become an immediate impact player. The linebacker group (Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson, Jordyn Brooks, Tyrel Dodson, Willie Gay Jr. and KJ Britt) could make the case that it's top-10 caliber when healthy. Waller is a huge question at tight end; he remains on the physically unable to perform list while working back from a year in retirement. The Dolphins should at least explore free agent Noah Fant, who visited Cincinnati and New Orleans. But for now, they're invested in Waller, Julian Hill, Tanner Conner and Pharoah Brown. Has Grier's summer wheeling and dealing left Miami a sure-fire playoff team? Absolutely not. But it has left them in a vastly better position than it could have been after Ramsey's surliness and trade demands left the Dolphins in a compromised position. At the very least, there isn't a big difference between the Dolphins' talent and the remainder of the teams likely competing for three AFC wild card spots – Denver, Cincinnati, the Chargers, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and perhaps New England and Cleveland and the Raiders. You could make the case that the first four of those teams are superior to Miami, but if they are, I wouldn't say there's a huge gulf. The Dolphins figure to field a competitive team that should be 'in the hunt' in December. Competing for a wild card spot was hardly the dream when Miami embarked on this rebuild seven years ago. But at least they're not the Carolina Panthers.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What To Expect From Jackson Blake In Year 2?
Fresh off of becoming a $45 million man, it's clear that Jackson Blake isn't a rookie anymore. No, Blake, just a couple days away from his 22nd birthday, is looking more and more like he's going to be a relied upon piece of the Carolina Hurricanes for years to come. So what can we expect from the kid after a 17 goal, 34 point inaugural season? In year one, Blake really did have one of the most unpredictable runs we've seen in a while. Fresh off of a standout sophomore season at the University of North Dakota that saw him as a Hobey Baker finalist, Blake had a memorable training camp and preseason that just left the staff too impressed to leave him off the roster. "It was just his play," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour had said at the time. "It was obvious that he belonged. He made mistakes like everyone else, but I just felt like with what he showed, we wanted to see more. That's why the decision is what it is." Every game he played, Blake just got better. He's not the most explosive skater, nor does his talent really jump off the page, but he's just such a smart player and one who works so hard too. He's the kind of player who more often than not, finds himself in the right spots and doing all the right things that really tilts the ice in his team's favor. And I will say, his poise with the puck on his stick and then the ability to win pucks back where well above the expected levels for a rookie. He also demonstrated an ability to play with high-end talent on both the Canes' top line (Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov) and on the team's top power play. Brind'Amour always commented on how consistently Blake was amongst the best players on the ice and for a team that's been as consistently good as Carolina has been, that says a lot. Blake led all Hurricanes forwards in Corsi For (61.23%), expected goals for (60.52%) and actual goals for (58.46%) in the regular season. Even if he wasn't always on the scoresheet, he was always around it. Blake isn't the biggest guy, but he was never afraid to go into the corners or battle in front of the net. He was always willing to give that extra effort and that's what the Canes like about him. So what more can Blake bring in year two? The 21 year old was almost always a driver on his line, but he had a penchant to pass off a bit too much. Blake was at times a bit too timid of a shooter, with just 6.44 shots on goal and 12.16 individual chances per 60, both in the bottom half amongst Canes forwards. However, when he did shoot, it was primarily between the circles and closer to the net, so he knows and goes to the spots on the ice where he needs to to score. If he just starts to trust a little more in himself, I think it will go a long way. That and another year growing into his body will be huge for Blake. The 5-foot-11 winger is in the lower portion of the league in terms of size, but he plays bigger than he is and adding more muscle to his frame will just allow him to do just that much more on the ice. The Hurricanes obviously see Blake as a huge part of the team moving forward and if he can continue to build on his promising start, their bet is going to pay off immensely. Recent Stories • 'I'm Very Excited About The Team In Carolina': Nikolaj Ehlers On Signing In Carolina• Hurricanes Target Positional Depth In Opening Days of Free Agency• Where Have Last Year's Carolina Hurricanes Ended Up?• Carolina Takes Big Swing On Talented New York Blueliner• Who Will Quarterback PP2 For Carolina Next Season?• 'The Last Two Years, It Wasn't Easy For Me Mentally': Dmitry Orlov Voices Potential Displeasures With Carolina After Signing In San Jose• Carolina Hurricanes Release 2025-26 Schedule Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Falcons rookie safety takes reps with first-team defense
Atlanta gave third-round pick Xavier Watts reps with the first-team defense at Saturday's practice The Atlanta Falcons completed their second training camp practice on Saturday morning, and they continue to tweak things on defense. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is making sure to see what he's got at all positions, including safety. Third-round pick Xavier Watts was considered one of the draft's biggest steals, and he's already getting reps with the first-team defense. The Falcons signed veteran Jordan Fuller to start next to Jessie Bates III, but that was before they traded up for Watts. The former Notre Dame standout was touted as "one of the best ball-hawking safeties in the class" by Pro Football Focus, finishing the 2024 season with six interceptions and a coverage grade of 89.5. Atlanta has so many new faces on defense that it makes sense for Ulbrich try different rotations. Thus far, he hasn't been shy about doing so along the defensive line. Aside from Watts running with the first-team defense, Ulbrich used several different combinations up front, per team reporter Tori McElhaney. "This is a heavily rotating DL, so they are getting a lot of work with the 1st and 2nd team," McElhaney wrote on Twitter. "Same with Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus, David Onyemata, Zach Harrison, Leonard Floyd, Arnold Ebiketie, etc. The pairings and groupings are ever changing almost play in and play out." The Falcons finished 31st in the NFL with 31 defensive sacks last season and have since lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Orhorhoro and Dorlus didn't receive much playing time as rookies, but both are expected to help fill the void in 2025. Ebiketie is entering a contract year and should have every incentive to play his best this season. The former second-round pick has added competition with rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. expected to play major roles as well. Falcons wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. made his camp debut on Saturday. The former Pro Bowler was spotted wearing a the No. 16 as he looks to help fill in for an injured Darnell Mooney (shoulder). Check out the team's updated 90-man roster.
