CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you’re reading this by squinting at your phone through a pesky sun glare with your feet firmly rooted in the sand, congratulations, you’re doing it right.You’ve also made it to one of the few quiet periods on the NFL calendar.Carolina Panthers players are now a week and a half into their summer breaks, and probably aren’t calling up this story from the Caribbean — or from SouthPark, if we’re being honest. Good for them: They’ll be back on the practice field soon enough thanks to the earliest reporting date in the league (along with the Arizona Cardinals).The position competitions and battles for roster spots will begin in July before intensifying in August. But some players helped themselves in May and June, while others backslid a bit due to injury or other circumstances.How the Panthers are tapping into trash talking at minicampJoseph PersonBefore this writer plants a virtual palm tree on The Athletic’s messaging platform, let’s take a look at whose stock rose and whose fell during OTAs and minicamp.Stock upWR Jalen CokerCoker’s stock not only jumped figuratively this month, so did his actual stock portfolio, thanks to a three-year, $34 million extension that should keep the No. 2 receiver in Carolina through 2029. Even before his new contract, Coker was enjoying a good spring as Bryce Young’s WR1 while Tetairoa McMillan, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2025, was sidelined with a foot issue. Coker improved over his first two seasons after arriving as an undrafted free agent out of Holy Cross. His next step is staying healthy. Coker changed his diet and his offseason routine to try to prevent the soft-tissue injuries that limited him to 11 games in both 2025 and ’26.QB Bryce YoungYoung makes the list not necessarily because of what he did with his arm or legs, but for how he used his voice. From the first OTA practice when he railed on his receivers and tight ends for dropping passes following a sudden rainstorm to the opening minicamp session when he jawed with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and other members of the first-team defense, Young set the tone. Coming off their first playoff berth since 2017, this is a big season for the Panthers to show last season wasn’t a fluke. It’s also an important one for Young to prove he’s worthy of a contract that makes him one of the higher-paid quarterbacks in the league. Young didn’t wait until training camp to let his teammates know what’s at stake.CB Corey ThorntonThornton managed to make an impression despite playing behind Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, who are among the NFL’s best cornerback duos. Thornton, an undrafted free agent from Louisville in 2025, was pushing Chau Smith-Wade as the top nickel before a broken fibula ended his rookie season in November. But the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder showed no ill effects, lining up at three spots in the secondary and diving to intercept Young in team drills during an OTA practice. “All the work that he’s put in his first year is paying off for him,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said.DL Aaron HallWith Turk Wharton out indefinitely after a neck procedure and second-round pick Lee Hunter missing the first minicamp practice due to a personal reason, Hall had opportunities to show he belongs on the roster. And the undrafted free agent from Duke took advantage. The 6-4, 296-pound Hall added 50 pounds over his five seasons in Durham, which helped him hold up at the point of attack during the Panthers’ spring practices. But Hall isn’t just a space-eater inside. He also showed an ability to shed blocks and make tackles.TE Ja’Tavion Sanders and RB Jonathon BrooksThe Texas teammates are lumped together here because both looked good running around while returning from leg injuries. Sanders broke his ankle on the first play from scrimmage in a Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, while Brooks missed all of 2025 after a second torn ACL late in his rookie season. There are bigger tests ahead for Brooks, who said he still wasn’t back to his top speed during OTAs. But if the two draft picks from 2024 can return to their pre-injury forms, it will be a boost for Brad Idzik in his first season as the offensive play caller.Stock downDL Turk WhartonWharton has had trouble staying on the field since signing a three-year, $45 million deal in 2024. The Super Bowl-winner with the Kansas City Chiefs played in only nine games in his first season in Carolina due to hamstring and toe injuries. Now he’s rehabbing from offseason neck surgery, and watched the defensive line drills in street clothes during some of the OTAs. The Panthers expect Wharton to play this season, but haven’t said when. Wharton is expected to be placed on the physically unable to perform list before camp.WR Jimmy Horn Jr.Horn, last year’s sixth-round pick, didn’t have a bad spring. But his place on the depth chart became a little tenuous with the additions of Chris Brazzell (third-round pick from Tennessee) and John Metchie (free agent) and the return of veteran David Moore, who didn’t play last season after blowing out his elbow in a Week 4 loss at the New England Patriots. Metchie has the benefit of having played with Young at Alabama, while the Panthers hope Brazzell can be a home-run threat. Horn caught 11 passes for 108 yards as a rookie, and only played five special-teams snaps all season.Kenny Pickett and Carolina’s other backup QBs found themselves scrambling a good bit during offseason practices with the defensive line having advantages over the O-line. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)The backup quarterbacksSpecifically, the time the Panthers’ backup quarterbacks had to throw. Non-padded practices almost always favor defensive linemen, who have less for O-linemen to latch on to as the pass rushers try to speed-rush their way into the backfield. It’s also worth noting that all three reserve quarterbacks are new to the offensive system. Couple all of that with the fact that the Panthers were breaking in rookie left tackle Monroe Freeling and rookie center Sam Hecht along their second and third lines, respectively, and you get a sense of why Kenny Pickett, Will Grier and Haynes King had plenty of chances to throw on the run this spring. The same was true of Young, though seemingly not as often. But things should even out when the pads come on and the reserve offensive linemen get more comfortable working alongside each other.The linebacker healthTrevin Wallace spent the spring in a red (non-contact) jersey after undergoing shoulder surgery in January. But at least Wallace was on the field. Outside linebacker Thomas Incoom and inside ‘backer Bam Martin-Scott were both sidelined with undisclosed injuries. Canales said Incoom underwent a “clean-up” procedure, but should be ready for the start of training camp. Martin-Scott was cleared in June, but the Panthers held him out as a precaution. So the outlook is good for all three to be full-go this summer.Jun 23, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms