NFL training camp underway as Cardinals, Panthers veterans report Wednesday

The long NFL offseason is officially over. Training camp activity began Tuesday, July 21, when Carolina Panthers rookies reported in Charlotte. The league’s summer schedule picks up Wednesday as Panthers veterans arrive and the Arizona Cardinals welcome their players to State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

Arizona and Carolina are beginning earlier than the NFL’s other 30 teams because they will meet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 6. Most teams will not have their veterans report until July 28. The early arrivals give the Cardinals and Panthers extra preparation time, but they also bring two very different situations into focus. Carolina is attempting to build on an NFC South championship, while Arizona is beginning a new era under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur.

Football has returned. These are the first two teams getting down to business.

Panthers rookies get NFL training camp started

The Panthers officially opened training camp Tuesday with their rookie report date. Veterans were scheduled to join them Wednesday before the team holds its first practice Thursday.

Carolina will conduct camp at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Its first practices open to fans are scheduled for July 24 and July 25. There will be considerable attention on first-round offensive tackle Monroe Freeling almost immediately.

Starting right tackle Taylor Moton is expected to miss the beginning of the regular season after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung. Moton is responding well to treatment, but the team has not provided a definite return date. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is also recovering from a knee injury suffered during the 2025 playoffs.

Those injuries could force Freeling into an important role much sooner than anticipated. Free-agent addition Rasheed Walker and returning lineman Brady Christensen should also receive opportunities as Carolina searches for its best combination. Protecting Bryce Young will be one of the Panthers’ biggest priorities after their surprising division championship. Young enters his fourth season with higher expectations and a roster that Carolina believes can make another postseason run.

Panthers begin camp without another defensive star

Moton is not the only established Carolina starter beginning camp on the non-football injury list. Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn suffered a foot cut that required stitches. The injury is not expected to threaten his availability for the regular season, and the Panthers hope to have him back early in camp.

Horn recorded a career-high five interceptions in 2025 and started 16 games. His ability to stay on the field was an important development after injuries disrupted the beginning of his career. Carolina will also use camp to evaluate its running back rotation.

Jonathon Brooks has been medically cleared after missing the entire 2025 season with a second torn ACL in his right knee. Chuba Hubbard remains an experienced alternative after rushing for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.

With Rico Dowdle now in Pittsburgh, Brooks and Hubbard could both earn substantial roles.

Cardinals open first camp under Mike LaFleur

Arizona’s players report Wednesday for the franchise’s first training camp under LaFleur. The Cardinals will hold seven practices open to fans at State Farm Stadium, beginning Friday, July 24. Five of those sessions are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. local time, a change introduced by the new coaching staff.

Arizona’s biggest early question will be at quarterback.

Jacoby Brissett entered the offseason as the leading candidate to start, but he missed offseason practices. His absence gave Gardner Minshew and rookie Carson Beck additional opportunities to learn LaFleur’s offense. Brissett and Minshew both bring extensive NFL experience. Beck offers greater long-term intrigue but has not taken a professional snap.

The Cardinals do not necessarily need to make an immediate decision. Their extended preseason schedule should give the coaching staff plenty of opportunities to evaluate all three quarterbacks in game situations. Whoever wins the job will have one of the league’s most productive tight ends available.

Trey McBride recorded 126 receptions in 2025, setting the NFL’s single-season record for catches by a tight end. He earned first-team All-Pro recognition and will remain the centerpiece of Arizona’s passing game.

MORE: Five NFL training camp battles that could reshape the 2026 season

Why Arizona and Carolina are reporting first

The Cardinals and Panthers received earlier reporting dates because they will play an additional preseason game. Arizona and Carolina will open the NFL preseason Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. ET inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The matchup will help launch an important weekend for both franchises.

Former Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. They will be recognized before the game alongside Drew Brees, Roger Craig and Adam Vinatieri.

Fitzgerald and Kuechly spent their entire careers with the organizations that selected them in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The Hall of Fame Game will provide a fitting celebration of their careers. It will also represent the first major checkpoint for two teams that started working before everyone else. Carolina’s rookies got the NFL training camp calendar underway Tuesday. With Panthers veterans and the Cardinals arriving Wednesday, the road to the 2026 season is officially open.

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