A recent quote from Dave Canales has resulted in Carolina Panthers fans questioning his prioritizes. His mind has been made up as Bryce Young and crew will not be suiting up in Pittsburgh for the team’s preseason finale.
Knowing the starters won’t be playing ahead of September 7th’s opener, Canales’ latest quote was picked apart. Carolina has been outscored 50-13 in their first two preseason games, scoring just one touchdown in the process.
Dave Canales Benches Starters After Bashing Team’s ‘Execution of the Basics’
Panthers fans saw quite the development as Canales went on the record to say, “I don’t feel good about our execution of the basics”. With one more preseason game to figure things out, he’s decided to move in the opposite direction.
Benching Young and a young receiving core is a decision that fans can’t seem to fathom. For a coach to say his team needs to work on the basics, but then bench them is quite backwards. Regardless, Carolina’s head coach is standing firm on his decision.
Starters won’t play next week, per Canales.
“I don’t feel good about our execution of the basics.” #Panthers
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) August 16, 2025
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“We’re trying to win all these games with whatever group that goes out there. That’s the goal, and not to be able to get that done, it’s frustrating,” Canales said. His quote directly coincides with the team only scoring one touchdown in 120 minutes of play. Coincidentally, that touchdown came from Bryce Young in quarter one of their first game.
He continued, “How far do we read into it? Not very far. This is this game. We got a week of work in front of us. We have two really important practices before we go into Pittsburgh. The starters will not play this upcoming week.”
Canales Believes There’s ‘Flashes’ Even With the Team’s Lopsided Losses
It’s always hard to tell football fans not to read too deeply into the preseason. The Panthers starting QB was held to eight passing attempts in two games. Their newest receiver, Tetairoa McMillan, has recorded just two receptions on seven targets. Chuba Hubbard recorded only five carries. Entering his second year as head coach, this is the way Canales has decided to operate.
Full quote pic.twitter.com/a9cQZn18g5
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) August 16, 2025
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“I feel great about our conditioning level, I feel great about the physicality of play, I don’t feel great about our execution of the basics because it’s not showing up consistently for us. There’s flashes,” Canales added.
Panthers fans have every right to question a head coach who is going to not play his starters after saying that. The final week of the preseason gives each team one more chance to see what they have in front of them. Whether that’s playing starters for a quarter, the entire half, or letting guys fight it out for the remaining roster spots.
Clearly, Canales has chosen the ladder. His decision is one that he hasn’t made lightly, but it’s a decision that looks poor knowing what he said about his starting unit. Canales did make it clear that he’s excited about what’s to come, he’s just taken an odd route to show that excitement.
Carolina opens their season with two straight road games. They’ll play in Jacksonville and Arizona before hosting the Atlanta Falcons for an NFC South showdown on September 21.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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