CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young is a man who likes his routine. During the football season, the quarterback knows what every day will hold. Mondays are film study, Tuesdays are recovery, and Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays are practice days followed by long nights spent breaking down his own film and taking notes.

But this week has thrown his routine into the blender. A Thursday night game, his first since Week 10 of his 2023 rookie season, means everything shifts up three days.

"Sometimes, it's like, it's annoying a little bit," admitted Young, a creature of habit, with a laugh.

He also strives to be grateful for every opportunity. So even if it messes up his normal weekly schedule, he's trying to enjoy the change.

"It makes it more exciting, if that makes sense. It cuts off the monotony, so it's like a double-edged sword. It's cool, especially for the scope of the season. So, yeah, grateful for the opportunity."

The monotony changes because everything becomes condensed. Young estimated he's still watching the same amount of film as in a normal week, but he's doing it in two days versus five. Some of that film, he shared, includes going back and watching the Week 2 loss versus the Cardinals last season, since that was also a team and defense coached by Jonathan Gannon, now the Packers defensive coordinator.

"You peek at it a little bit," shared Young. "They look a little different, obviously, different players, call it a little different. There's some carryover. There's some stuff that's different.

"You always try to grab as much as possible, and then you hone in on what you're going to bring to Thursday, so, it's a mixture."

And while the Panthers didn't run a full-speed practice this week, they did hold two days of long walkthroughs.

"You don't have the full-speed stuff, you don't have a couple of other things, and obviously both sides are dealing with that," said Young. The Packers, parenthetically, hosted just one walkthrough this week, on Tuesday.

"So you got to have attention to detail on those walkthroughs, a lot of conversations, a lot of notes taken throughout, so I think it's just being able to iron out those details. Even though you're not going to be able to get the throws or everything, making sure you have as many conversations as possible, since you're not going to have as many looks, I think that's a big priority for us."

Injury status for guys will depend on Wednesday

A shortened week creates a logistical challenge when it comes to injured players. Coach Dave Canales explained Tuesday he and general manager Dan Morgan have to almost take their best guess on who might be available by game day, and both prepare them mentally, even if they're not on the field, while also preparing anyone who could step in.

"It's tricky, especially on a short week because today would be kind of a day where we have a chance to get second and third opinions on things and all that stuff's still happening for us," explained Canales. "A number of guys are day to day to see if we can kind of get them to turn the corner a little bit tomorrow and move them around.

"So it gets challenging that way. We have to make our best guess about who's going to be available and prepare the guys that aren't out there right now but that we hope might be. And then, of course, prepare the guys that might have to step in if somebody's out.

"So, a little bit of a juggling thing for Dan and I to really, really look at. But at the same time, with the group that we do have out there, just challenging those guys, they know how to handle this part of it and the guys understand we trust them and we'll count on whoever has to step in."

Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips did not practice Monday or Tuesday; both days were walk-throughs, and participation status was estimated. Canales told reporters on Monday that they would try to get Phillips back for this game, but with his recurring hamstring injury, they wanted to be careful.

Offensive lineman Damien Lewis (knee) and corner Akayleb Evans (triceps/knee) are the two starters mainly in question. Both have been non-participants this week. Canales said two days of rest can help someone trying to recover before a game. But their availability for Thursday night will depend largely on Wednesday.

"Day to day truly; (it) just means a lot of testing tomorrow because we need to know. We need to know by tomorrow if guys can move around and do their job well," he explained. "So, giving two days to be able to fully recover should be advantageous for the guys that are kind of on the bubble and almost have a chance to really help us, so they're going to be in there getting treated right now after meetings, and they were doing that all morning.

"So it's kind of a normal Monday, Tuesday in terms of somebody who might be day to day in terms of return to play, and tomorrow would be the day where we would try to test somebody and get out there."

Balancing scheme versus player

If some of these starters, such as Lewis, Evans, or Phillips, can't go against the Packers, Canales explained they will have to prioritize matchups against Green Bay more than anything when it comes to who will replace them.

"We have to start to anticipate, like, all right, what is our game plan and approach going to be and who would execute that the best," explained Canales. "And we have options in some of the different spots, so I think that kind of plays into it some. It's not just about who might be necessarily the most logical next step in, but it's, what does the game plan look like? Does that fit this guy or that guy better?"

Some of those options, the coach explained, could be Corey Bullock or Jake Curhan, who provided respite on the offensive line last season. Another option is Torricelli Simpkins III, but he has been nursing an ankle injury this week.

"It's like trying to figure out the best puzzle piece for what our game plan and our run game might look like, and the pass-pro," said Canales.

At corner, Chau Smith-Wade would shift to the outside, but there would still be a need for depth. At that point, they could look at Corey Thornton, in his second year with the club, or Marco Wilson, who arrived in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago but has been a league veteran for six years, among the possible practice squad elevations.

"There are guys that do different things and have different types of skill sets," said Canales. "Marco Wilson's a quicker athletic mover, and Corey Thornton is a big physical corner who's played safety, who's played nickel for us. So there's some options there."

Preparing to stop speed

Packers receiver Christian Watson is a gazelle. He ran a 4.36 at the NFL combine four years ago and has figured out how to best use his speed to his advantage over the last few years in the NFL.

It's showing up this season. Watson is tied for fifth in the league in explosive plays, with 15 total thus far. Coincidentally, he's tied with Tetairoa McMillan.

But when the Panthers defense steps on the field Thursday night, it's not McMillan they're trying to stop; it'll be Watson.

Nick Scott has been in the NFL since 2019, and he estimates the fastest receiver he's faced to date is Tyreek Hill. But when it comes to Watson, "he's up there. He's definitely up there. He's got gas, obviously."

The key to stopping a guy that fast is two-fold; it starts on the line of scrimmage. But it's also one of those weeks when the safety position earns its title and truly becomes the safety net for the secondary.

"Guys like that, you don't really try to find out how fast they are," said Scott. "You just try to get as deep as possible, hopefully not get in a foot race. He's got some gas for real, which is, I guess, a little rare for how tall and lanky he is, so he can get rolling for sure."