CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are wrapping up their preseason with positive news about both of their rookie edge rushers, Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen.

Umanmielen left Thursday night's preseason game against the Steelers with a shoulder injury after blocking Pittsburgh tight end Darnell Washington on Lathan Ransom's interception return. The rookie was starting for the first time, but was forced to patrol the sidelines after only 10 snaps.

He received X-rays on Thursday night, which came back clear, and then underwent an MRI on Friday morning. Those results were seemingly also clear, according to coach Dave Canales.

"He's fine," Canales shared Friday. "He banged up his shoulder a little bit. They did some testing, some imaging, and he's a little bit sore, but he's going to be fine."

Umanmielen was without his fellow rookie pass rusher Scourton, who suffered a collapsed lung during joint practice with the Houston Texans last week. He was driven back to Charlotte from Houston for safety reasons and was able to jog during practice this week as he slowly works his way back to play.

Canales said the 20-year-old Scourton feels ready to go now, and he is responding well, but trainers are easing him back to monitor his lungs.

"Nic's doing great, every day stronger. I didn't get the full update in terms of just like, is he 100 percent or is he 95 percent, but it's up in that area," Canales said.

"He's been running, you know, and the next thing now is to just get him back into some contact to see how he responds there, but he feels great. He feels—asking him, he feels like he's back to normal, you know. But I know that there's a lot that goes into this, more than meets the eye, so we have to continue to evaluate that.

"But I feel strongly Nic's going to be OK, be ready to go for, next week for practice."

Both Scourton and Umanmielen were drafted due to their production, as well as their motor and willingness to go 100 percent on every play, which both displayed during the preseason. As they adjust to the NFL game, with its faster speed and longer season, Canales said they aren't going to ask either guy to slow down, but will be there to help them recover quicker.

"We don't pick and choose, when you're on the field, you go," Canales explained. "We ask the guys to trust us, go for it, go for it, and if you're gassed, we'll get you out of there, we'll get someone else in, and the minute you're back out there, give everything you got. You don't have to pick and choose when to go.

"When you do practice like that, when you do play like that in a game, the recovery starts immediately when the game's over and you start going through your process and you start getting your checks and balances and refueling the times that are important and utilizing the resources that we have down there.

"It's the trust of the players to know when you go in there, you're getting the best care, and that's what's happening here, so I'm really excited about that."

Dave Canales on Adam Thielen trade speculation

Canales was asked about the multiple reports suggesting that the Vikings have called about the potential availability of veteran wideout Adam Thielen, and deferred to general manager Dan Morgan.

The 35-year-old wideout was born and raised there and starred for the Vikings, so it's an easy set of dots to connect.

"You know, honestly, I'm letting Dan kind of handle all that right now," Canales said. "I'm focused on our team, our football, and Adam's a part of that. We have a lot to talk about in the next couple of days in terms of the roster and all that, but that's something that you know I'm going to let them handle, and for me right now it's just focusing on this entire roster and being able to make decisions there."

The Panthers are deeper at the position than they've been in years, and when asked if that might allow them to move Thielen, Canales shrugged.

"Could be. I don't know," he said. "Until the conversations really get real, there's really nothing to talk about other than for us to just continue to think about where we're going to be going into the weeks coming."

Kicking competition could still change

The Panthers carried the kicking competition throughout training camp and the preseason, allowing both veteran Matthew Wright and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald to trade off kicking responsibilities during practice and games.

Fitzgerald ended up kicking in all three preseason games, hitting his field goal attempts from 32, 52, and 43 yards. Wright kicked consistently in practice, but missed his only preseason game attempt from 55 yards.

With roster cutdown day looming on Tuesday, the Panthers are presumably on the clock to make a decision. However, Canales acknowledged that the same can be said for every other team, and what another team does with their kicking competition might change the look of the Panthers' special teams room.

"I feel very confident in both guys, but I also know there's good kickers out there," Canales said Friday.

"And again, just like every other position, I think we start with the information we have, and then we have to look at the whole thing just like we're going to do with every other position. We've got to look at who's all out there and how they stack up in terms of accuracy with the kicking game, field goals, and PATs, and then also what guys can bring to us in the kickoff setting, and all that. So that's again going to be a part of these conversations coming up."

Tight end room brings interesting conversation

After a training camp and preseason of intense competition and production, the tight end room is forcing the Panthers coaches and front office to make some tough decisions ahead of roster cut down day. While Tommy Tremble spent the offseason rehabbing from his back surgery (he was activated on Thursday) younger guys like Ja'Tavion Sanders and Mitchell Evans received a bulk of reps.

But fourth-year tight end James Mitchell also stepped in and grabbed attention, capping his camp performance with a 7 yard touchdown from Jack Plummer Thursday night.

"Another guy who just did a great job representing himself and showing us that he's somebody we can count on," Canales bragged of Mitchell on Friday. "So I'm really excited that James did that and showed up not just in the pass game with a couple of flashes but the run game as well.

Mitchell spent his first three years in the league with the Lions, giving him experience and a knowledge of a similar offense that Canales said is part of the evaluation.

"Just a really well rounded player who's got some experience, and he came from Detroit where there's some similar systems, similar run game and different things like that, so he did a great job representing himself.

"He gave him a great shot for us to have him in the conversation."

Panthers establish consistency with T-Mo

The Panthers announced Friday morning that offensive lineman Taylor Moton had agreed to a two-year extension, keeping the longest tenured offensive player in Carolina even longer. It ensures Bryce Young will have a consistent offensive line as well, with four of the five starting linemen now under contract for at least the next two seasons.

"It's such a great moment for us," Canales said Friday morning of the extension. "T-Mo has been a stud here for a really long time and has continued to show us the progress, the reliability that we're looking for, the attitude, the character of the guy, really.

"First and foremost speaks to who he is and just wanting him to be here, to be a part of what we're building and knowing that he's an important part of our offense."