Panthers’ Nic Scourton Carted Off With Knee Injury as Raiders Lock In Fernando Mendoza

Scourton’s Injury Casts a Shadow Over Panthers’ Camp Opener

Carolina’s first training camp practice of 2026 didn’t get far before it stopped cold. Second-year outside linebacker Nic Scourton went down during 11-on-11 team drills Thursday with what the team is calling a right knee injury, and he left Bank of America Stadium’s practice fields on a cart, according to ESPN.

The field was wet. The rep was ordinary. Then it wasn’t. Every player dropped to a knee. The music cut out. For a few seconds, the only sound left was rain and silence.

Head coach Dave Canales didn’t dress it up afterward.

“I don’t want to speculate. I’m hoping for the best.”

He confirmed Scourton would undergo an MRI later that afternoon, with no immediate word on severity or a return timetable.

Before the cart pulled away, Canales and the entire roster walked over individually to hug Scourton. It wasn’t staged. It was a team that’s spent one practice together already looking like a team that’s spent a season together. Panthers.com described the moment as setting the tone for camp before a single padded rep had been logged.

Quarterback Bryce Young, who was near the play but said he didn’t see exactly what happened, praised Scourton’s growth into a defensive leader: “It’s been really cool to see him come into his own. We don’t know anything yet, but we’re just praying for him.”

This is not a small injury to shrug off. Scourton, Carolina’s second-round pick in 2025, tied Derrick Brown for the team lead with five sacks as a rookie and was penciled in to start opposite free-agent addition Jaelan Phillips this season. Canales said Thursday the position group has depth to lean on if the injury sidelines Scourton for a stretch, name-checking Phillips, Patrick Jones II and Princely Umanmielen as options.

Nothing is confirmed beyond the injury itself and the plan for imaging. Until the MRI results come back, any talk of a torn ACL, a multi-week absence or a season-ending outcome is speculation — and premature.

Fernando Mendoza Is Officially a Raider

Two thousand miles west, the Raiders had a considerably lighter Thursday. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, signed his four-year rookie contract as Las Vegas rookies reported to camp, according to ESPN. The deal is fully guaranteed at $57.27 million and carries a fifth-year team option — standard structure for a first overall pick under the current rookie wage scale.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the signing, and the team has since confirmed it. With Mendoza’s deal done, Las Vegas’ entire 10-player 2026 draft class is now under contract heading into camp.

Don’t expect Mendoza under center Week 1, though. Kirk Cousins has taken the bulk of first-team reps throughout the offseason program, while Mendoza has worked mostly with the third unit. The Raiders signed Cousins this offseason specifically to buy Mendoza time to develop without being rushed onto the field. Getting the contract finalized before padded practices matters here — it clears the runway for Mendoza to focus entirely on the playbook rather than negotiations dragging into August, the way Cincinnati’s Shemar Stewart standoff did a year ago.

Dolphins Confirm Week 14 Throwback Uniforms

Miami’s news Thursday was considerably lower stakes. The Dolphins announced on X that they’ll break out their white throwback uniforms for their Week 14 home game against the Bears. Miami posted on X: “White throwbacks are back” —

Throwback threads 😎

Be in the building » https://t.co/h0pA43FHH5 pic.twitter.com/NIYbN3oPhQ

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 23, 2026

No further details on the full uniform combination have been released.