CHARLOTTE — Princely Umanmielen understands the danger of believing too much good press. He's seen it happen to countless guys in college and the NFL — players who have a good training camp, perform well, then fall off a cliff during the season.

Umanmielen, heading into his second season, was challenged by coaches this offseason. He met the test with flying colors, making sacks in preseason games, pushing the pocket in practices, and stepping up after teammate Nic Scourton tore his ACL. Heading into the season, Umanmielen is determined not to be one of those who falter into the season.

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"To be honest, (the good camp) means something, but it also means nothing at the same time," Umanmielen said Wednesday. "I've seen guys in college have great training camps and then have terrible seasons, you know what I'm saying? God forbid that happens to me."

Now, with Patrick Jones II sidelined for at least the Week 1 game, Umanmielen will have to protect against any potential slump even more. Jones is dealing with a back injury, and Dave Canales said he will be out at least this week against the Bears.

"We were able to get ahead of it, treat it, (but) we do not expect him to play this week," Canales said of Jones. "He'll be week-to-week, and we're hoping that we can get him turned around pretty quickly. But again, with those issues, we got to be smart about this and make sure that we're bringing him back with the right cadence and making sure he's ready to go."

Canales also shared that Jones's back injury is not related to last season's, but rather something that had been building through practice. In his absence, the Panthers are turning to guys like Umanmielen and others to balance out Jaelan Phillips.

"We need Princely. We need Trevis Gipson, Thomas Incoom, all the guys that have been working and practicing for us, to be able to fill bits and pieces of the roles that Pat played," said Canales.

And for Umanmielen, who had 24 tackles with 1.5 sacks as a rookie, that means not just relying on what he did in training camp, but building on it into the season.

"I just want to replicate or even take it to another level than what I did in camp, in the season," said Umanmielen. "I tried to go as hard as I could and make as many plays as I could. I'm really, I'm striving to do even better during the season."

D-line needs Lee Hunter to be ready

The Panthers could potentially start two rookies on Sunday, both in the trenches. Monroe Freeling has been a known starter at right tackle for some time, but this week, the Panthers also named Lee Hunter first-team on the defensive line.

He's rotated in and out there all offseason, competing with Cam Jackson to play the spot alongside Derrick Brown and Bobby Brown III. By the end of camp, the second-rounder out of Texas Tech had earned the spot.

"First and foremost, you know, Lee, just locking him into that nose position," explained Canales of the reasoning. "Of course, when you're 4 down, he's got to play a shade. He's got to play a 3 depending on where the front moves and all that.

"But they did a great job, (defensive line) Coach Wash, he and those guys did a great job of just really shrinking the package down for him so he could just get at one part, and he started making plays, started to take to the technique that we're looking for, so that's a big part of it."

With Tershawn Wharton still on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, there was also a need, Canales explained. And they expect Hunter to fill it.

"We need Lee to go right now," challenged Canales. "Turk's not ready to go, and (Lee) stepped in there and showed us that he can play quality snaps in that competition that was happening in there with he and Cam Jackson. And Lee did the work and made strides to be able to put himself out there as a starter."

Now, the rookie has to prepare for Week 1 with the knowledge he could be out there snap one, facing off against the ferocious Bears guard duo of All-Pro Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. After an offseason working with both Browns, though, Hunter feels ready.

"Oh, it's pretty comfortable. Just trust the process that the coaches and the vets in my room give me daily and just trust the process and routine that I've been doing all my life playing football," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Trust my techniques. Trust the process, the work we put in, and the technique, and just trust the scheme. Just trust the coaches. Trust your brothers and trust everybody in the program."

Jonathon Brooks back on the practice field

Running back Jonathon Brooks worked on a limited basis in practice Wednesday, after missing time last week with some groin soreness.

Canales said he expected Brooks to be able to play this week against the Bears.

"He went out there, went through the full individuals, took selective reps throughout the practice so it wouldn't have been his full normal load of a practice, but pretty much he practiced the whole day," Canales said. "Very optimistic, very confident that he'll be out there on Sunday."

Of course, any practice missed causes great breath-holding when it comes to Brooks, who had just nine carries as a rookie and missed all of last season after a pair of ACL tears.

But Brooks said this latest hurdle wasn't frustrating for him, after a healthy preseason, which included a touchdown that became the latest milestone is his comeback.

"I think ultimately just me coming out healthy every single day, every game, waking up another day just to give God all the glory, I feel like that's, that's been a major thing for me," he said. "Just taking it one day at a time, and just knowing that I'm in these milestones, I'm really grateful for them.

"Never going to take it for granted, but just being able to wake up every day is my best milestone."

Okereke taking a crash course in Panthers defense

Bobby Okereke has played a lot of football games in his life, 111 in the NFL alone, and started 95 of those. He knows what it takes to prepare for game day, how to absorb a game plan, and how to get his body ready for the field. He knows he's going to be prepared when he takes the field Sunday as a Panthers starting linebacker in the Week 1 matchup against the Bears.

But everything is happening at warp speed, considering he's only been in Charlotte since August 31. Luckily, he's got a plan for learning a new system as well.

"I just take notes, I take copious notes," he explained Wednesday. "If I read it once, I remember it, and if I write it twice, I won't forget it."

When the Panthers signed Okereke as a free agent last month, it was always with the intention of him starting alongside Devin Lloyd. But it's going to take everyone to ensure the linebacker is comfortable with the system when he steps on the field Sunday.

"It's just a lot of extra meetings with coach Hansen," he went on to say. "Walking through the hallway talking with Claudin Cherelus, talking with Jackson Kuwatch, talking with Devin, just immersing myself in the defense. I've played basically all of these concepts before. It's just getting the terminology and the family groupings of all the coverages in the front. So it's fun; this is what I've been waiting for, just to dive into football."

Okereke has been in the league since 2019, but admitted he's never had a turnaround this quick before, since it's exactly two weeks from his signing to opening day. But the challenge has jolted the veteran linebacker.

"It's an exciting point in my career, and extra emphasis on playing fast and physical," he said.

"You're never going to be perfect in a football game, and especially me coming in at this time, like perfection is not the expectation.

"It's making sure my play style is physical, violent, aggressive, and that I play with great awareness and situational awareness. So I'm excited to support my teammates in that role."