Dave Canales' answer on playing Panthers starters next week makes no sense

Canales says his team can't execute the basics, which is why he's not planning to give them more in-game experience in preseason.

Aug 16, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; The Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales watches his team play against the Houston Texans in the second half at NRG Stadium. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

We're beginning to worry about second-year Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales and his management of a young team that's trying to crawl out of a seven-year hole. After telling the media last week that he planned to play Bryce Young and the rest of his starters about three series in today's game against the Houston Texans, Canales wound up yanking Young after just six plays.

Needless to say, beat reporters who were at the game were miffed by the decision. After the game, Canales was asked if he planned to play his starters next week against Pittsburgh, and he gave a concerning and non-sensical answer.

Canales won't play Panthers starters vs. Steelers

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

As understandably frustrated Panthers fans are pointing out in the replies, the whole reason why you have preseason games is so that your team can get into a rhythm doing things like executing the basics before the regular season begins.

Canales' initial call to play Young during the preseason was the correct one, especially in light of how much he struggled early on in 2024 after only seeing the field for one drive last August.

Pulling Young that fast after some early bumps reeks of indecision and second-guessing - the kind of qualities that NFL head coaches definitely do not need.

So, assuming Canales doesn't have another change of heart before Thursday night, Young will have thrown a grand total of eight passes in a live-game setting before Week 1's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville has long been the most dysfunctional team in the AFC (the Cleveland Browns don't even count at this point but they still just blew the Panthers out by three touchdowns) - so maybe Canales can get away with this lack of preparation in that season opener.

Then again, the surest way to get embarrassed in this league is to take your opponents lightly - and if they get lit up by the Jaguars it'll be a sign that whatever progress the Panthers may have made late last season, they're right back in the same ditch they've been stuck in since the middle of the 2018 campaign.

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