Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton’s season is over before it began.
The Panthers placed Scourton on injured reserve on Friday, one day after he injured his right knee on a wet field during the team’s first practice of training camp.
Multiple media outlets reported Scourton sustained a torn ACL. The Panthers did not confirm as much, however the move to season-ending injured reserve indicates the injury is severe.
Scourton, 21, was in tears and shielded his face from cameras as the cart pulled away from the field. Before the cart departed, the entire team and head coach Dave Canales had a moment with him as practice was halted for the day.
In just his second season, Scourton was penciled in to start on the opposite side of Jaelan Phillips, acquired as a free agent in the offseason. As a rookie, Scourton appeared in 17 games (eight starts) and tallied 47 tackles (seven for loss), a team high-tying five sacks and a forced fumble.
Veteran Patrick Jones II and Princely Umanmielen, in his second season, could see game time in his absence.
Also on Friday, the Panthers signed 2026 UFL Defensive Player of the Year Cam Gill and offensive tackle Derrell Bailey and waived guard Joshua Gray.
Gill, 28, recorded 10 sacks in the regular season for Louisville this spring. He also won Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay and notched 51 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in 50 career games with the Buccaneers (2020-21, 2023) and Panthers (2024).
Bailey went undrafted out of Georgia State this season.
