CHARLOTTE — The Panthers drafted Trevin Wallace in the third round last year, and signed Christian Rozeboom in free agency this year, because they didn't want to be caught short of qualified options in the middle of their defense.

But by Day 1 of training camp, they were the options.

With the surprise release of veteran starter Josey Jewell because of his continued concussion symptoms, Wallace and Rozeboom were out there with the ones Wednesday morning in practice, and for the moment, the most experienced options on the roster.

For both of them, the primary concern was the 30-year-old Jewell's health.

"A lot of that is probably behind the scenes that we don't know, but I was kind of more just on the side of worrying about him as a human, and him going forward," Rozeboom said. "So I think that was kind of the first thing on my mind, that's just something that it's a little bit bigger than football."

Wallace, who played alongside Jewell last year, saw him in the locker room Tuesday morning, and then got a text later in the afternoon telling him the news.

"I was like, damn, he's really gone. It shocked everybody," Wallace said. "The news was shocking to everybody; it's part of the business, though, you know. People come, people go, but that was just a shocker to me right there.

"All he said was, go out there and keep doing like you're doing, just keep building, bro, and he said I'm here for you if you need me. But that was just wild."

They didn't have long to process their emotions, because training camps tend to march on. So Wednesday morning, they had a job to do.

Rozeboom was wearing the green dot in practice Wednesday as the defensive signal-caller (meaning he's getting the plays from coaches in a radio earpiece in his helmet), which is not the way the Panthers drew it up this offseason.

Head coach Dave Canales was likewise thinking about Jewell's health when asked Wednesday, expressing respect for the person as well as the player who was second on the team in tackles last year despite missing five games.

"To talk about Josey, you talk about a leader," Canales said. "The guy didn't say a lot, but when he talked, people listened. The toughness, the character, the aggressive style of play, always making plays on the ball. Throughout his career, the reason why we brought him here, and I think for me as a first-year head coach last year, to have somebody that I could point to who really exemplifies the type of effort, the type of physicality, and the character. He's a no-nonsense guy. He wants guys to just look at the truth of what it was, get to the bottom of it, and fix it, and he was always at the heart of those conversations.

"So it's a big loss, definitely for us from that standpoint."

The Panthers don't have a lot of experience beyond those two. Claudin Cherelus and Jacoby Windmon each started two games here last year, but otherwise it's veteran special teamer Jon Rhattigan (no starts on defense in four seasons) and undrafted rookies Bam Martin-Scott and Tuasivi Nomura.

"It's a really talented young group," the perpetually positive Canales said. "They're very athletic. They've got aggressiveness in their style of play. They fit what we're looking for. So it's a great opportunity for those guys."

But it starts with Rozeboom and Wallace, and it's at least a familiar situation for them.

After the Rams traded star linebacker Ernest Jones last year in camp, Rozeboom stepped into the starting lineup for 11 games and responded with a career-high 136 tackles. Wallace found himself starting eight games after Shaq Thompson and Jewell were injured, an education on the fly for the rookie.

"He comes in and you don't miss a step or beat with him, you know, he's real good, real sound," Wallace said of Rozeboom. "Like, I'm glad I could play like that beside somebody like that, knowing that the experience he got had over 100 plus tackles, so you know he's going to get to the ball. Somebody that's beside me that you know that I can trust."

"I love Trev and I'm excited to play with him, obviously, and we have a great room," Rozeboom said. "I'm excited to have all those guys for training camp and kind of see how the season shakes out. . . .

"But I've, I've been in this role before, so it's not something that's new to me, so I'm excited to take that opportunity and run with it."

They're paired in other ways, as Wallace wore 56 as a rookie before switching to his college number 32 this year. So Rozeboom inherited his partner's old jersey with a shrug.

"I'm probably not too much of the flashy type to get a single digit as a linebacker, but 56 is a good linebacker number for sure," Rozeboom said. I'll take it."

Likewise, he's taking on far more responsibility than he envisioned when he signed here.

"I haven't been necessarily given any opportunities, just kind of had to take these and run with it," he said. "I think what's been nice is that early in my career, I was a backup, and it's really hard to be a backup and prepare every game like you're going to play, and then not see the field. So, to prepare like a backup but prepare that you're going to play, I think during OTAs was just something that I've done kind of my whole career.

"So, it's still football. This is a scheme that I've played in for this will be my sixth season, and so I feel comfortable in it, so I'm excited to, like I said, see where my role is that way."

Wallace admitted there were times last year when he felt swamped, though Thompson and Jewell told him constantly to prepare for anything.

"They always told me my first year here, never to slack off, or have a slack off mentality, because you never know when your day's going to come," Wallace said. "So always be prepared to go out there and never miss a step. Just being prepared for things like that, obviously, in the last year when Shaq went down, I was prepared for that because you know I had Josey. Then Josey left. It was like, OK, this is next man up, knowing what they instilled in me, knowing how they did it over the years. They just put a lot into me in terms of knowing, like, I can't miss a beat. Although they're gone, it's like you still have to play like they're still here."

Still, after four games of his rookie season, which he thought would be spent apprenticing under a pair of smart veterans, he was the one out there in Week 5 with the green dot on, calling plays for a lot of older players, while still learning what it meant to be in the NFL.

They didn't have earpieces and signals in college, so he was learning his new language by immersion.

"Just getting it mentally in my head, knowing like, OK, you've just got to get the call out, you know, just getting prepared to know what things are next, lining guys up. That first time, because you know you don't want to mess up, you don't want to miss a beat because Josey and Shaq wouldn't, and you want to fill their shoes.

"The vets, knowing it was my first time being a green dot, they just trying to calm me down. Just get the call out and just be fluent."

They have a camp to figure it out now, until or unless the team brings in more help. But for the moment, it seemed good.

Cornerback Jaycee Horn said, "It went smooth today," though it's the first unpadded practice of a long season.

"The communication and stuff in the huddle was, I feel like everybody got the calls around the defense and we played fast," he said.

That's a good first step, in what has already been an unusual turn of events.