The Panthers didn’t play quarterback Bryce Young in their first two preseason games, but they plan to have him on the field against the Bills on Saturday.
Head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Thursday that the team plans to play Young and the rest of their starters in their final preseason game. Teams often go the other way with the players they know will be on the team in the fall, but Canales said that the schedule for Saturday will provide valuable preparation for the regular season.
“My hope is to get the starters out there early in the game, get them some exposure,” Canales said, via the team website. “The importance of it to me is how valuable the night before prep is. Waking up in the morning, we have a 1 o’clock kick, we got a lot of those this year. So just the body readiness. This is a great opportunity to go through their pregame routines with each other, to have the communications on the sidelines as we go into the first drive there and just gather information. Talk, ‘this is how it’ll feel like.’ So, I love this opportunity for the guys and they’re excited about it.”
Canales didn’t specify how much work Young and other first-teamers will get against Buffalo and he said the team also has to decide if Andy Dalton will make his first appearance of the preseason. The backup quarterback has missed time this summer with a quad injury.
