Nic Scourton Carted Off From Panthers Camp Practice With Possible Serious Injury

Carolina Panthers edge rusher Nic Scourton has suffered what appears to be a significant injury on Day 1 of training camp.

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Carolina Panthers were in the midst of their first training camp practice on Thursday when second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton suffered what could be a serious injury.

According to NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, Scourton suffered what appeared to be some kind of right leg injury and wasn't able to put any pressure on it before being carted off the field.

Wolfe notes that Scourton' "was in tears" as he was carted off and teammates looked to be "very emotional with their frustration," which is a very bad sign.

"Panthers LB Nic Scourton suffered an apparent lower body injury in practice during team drills moments ago and was carted off," Wolfe wrote.

"Scourton was in tears as cart left the field and whole team came to give him a hug when he left. A lot of emotions for key player injury Day 1 of camp," he added.

Wolfe adds that "trainers were looking at his right knee," so it appears to be a knee injury initially.

We can only hope Scourton's injury is not as bad as it looks right now, but Wolfe's report doesn't leave much room for hope.

Impact of Nic Scourton's injury

If Scourton's injury is as bad as it seems, this would be a devastating blow to Carolina's defense.

Scourton totaled a team-high five sacks last season and had a strong finish to the 2025 campaign that led many to believe he would take a big step forward in Year 2.

The Panthers were obviously counting on him playing a huge role in a pass-rush that was tied for the third-fewest sacks in the NFL.

If Scourton is indeed out for the long haul, the Panthers are going to need Patrick Jones and Princely Umanmielen to step up, along with free-agent signing Jaelan Phillips.

The Panthers are off to an ominous start when it comes to injuries.

Taylor Moton was placed on the non-football illness list with a blood clot in his lung that will force him to miss time into the regular season.

Bobby Brown and Jaycee Horn are on the non-football injury list, also, although thankfully neither one is expected to miss a lot of time.