The Carolina Panthers started their 2026 preseason schedule with a bang, winning a thrilling Hall of Fame Game over the Arizona Cardinals last Thursday night. But the victory came with a price—as the hero, rookie quarterback Haynes King, sustained a hamstring injury that has sidelined him on a week-to-week basis.
King’s setback is just the latest gut punch for Carolina, who has been dealt with absence after absence throughout training camp. And with the rest of the league set to begin their preseason campaigns this week, the Panthers are far from a sure thing moving forward into the summer.
According to a new batch of preseason power rankings from Nick Shook at NFL.com, the reigning NFC South champs are only the 23rd-best team in the league right now. Shook writes:
The reigning NFC South champs have been bitten by the injury bug harder than any other team in the NFL so far, eliminating some players (Nic Scourton, Chris Brazzell II) for the season and leaving others (Taylor Moton, the still-recovering Ikem Ekwonu) on uncertain timetables for return. Fortunately, the Panthers attempted to hedge against such an outcome up front, adding first-round pick Monroe Freeling and veteran Rasheed Walker to bolster the tackle positions. Still, I can't help but feel as if this team is suddenly on thinner ice -- and vulnerable enough to be overtaken by another divisional foe in a wide-open race.
When healthy, this roster is definitely more deserving of a higher ranking—but the Panthers are pretty far from full strength right now.
Those season-ending injuries to Scourton and Brazzell represent two painful blows to premium positions that needed to see improvement this year. The issues at offensive tackle only compound those losses.
The good news for Carolina is that quarterback Bryce Young is having what one beat reporter described as his best training camp so far. If that translates into September and beyond, then the football world may regain quite a bit of hope for the Panthers in 2026.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 'Vulnerable' Panthers on lower end of NFL preseason power rankings