CHARLOTTE — Dave Canales best described it as "trying to trap a greased pig."

And frankly, that was putting it mildly.

Deluge isn't a strong enough word for the slow-moving rain cell that settled over Charlotte for most of the morning and into the afternoon. There was no lightning or threat of storm, so practice continued as usual, but the ball was slick and players had to make some concessions to avoid the "greased pig" effect.

Namely, heading out without gloves.

"If I have no gloves on, you know it's a rough day," joked receiver Adam Thielen, a perpetual glove-wearer.

"You're not supposed to wear gloves in the rain," explained receiver Tetairoa McMillan. "All the grip goes away. You got more grip on your fingers."

Regular gloves are sticky in normal weather, making them a necessity for some guys. But as soon as the weather gets wet, even if it's just extra humidity in the air, they become slick. Equipment then has rain gloves available, which are a bit more "tacky" according to Canales, but they are only useful in a certain level of rain.

"What I learned in Seattle is—most of the time in Seattle, it's a light drizzle," Canales said. "On those days where it's a little wet, those (rain) gloves are great. When there's a lot of water like today, they can be inhibiting a little bit."

Every receiver and pass catcher except Xavier Legette opted to go sans gloves on Tuesday, seeing it as the least worst option. That extended to most skill players, save Jaycee Horn and Corey Thornton, although Horn admitted it was more about the "swag" than the logistics and joked "it hurt me more than it helped me." Even Austin Corbett went no gloves, since he handles the ball on snaps.

"Fortunately, I've very large hands too, so don't make too big a deal. So not a problem," Corbett said.

Added corner Mike Jackson, "To me it's kind of like, it's a feel thing. So if it's raining like today's raining hard, really, ain't no point in putting gloves on, but if it's kinda like that Seattle rain, you can kinda get away with gloves, like, but not the regular ones, the rain gloves."

It's good preparation, noted Canales, for living and playing in an area that can get a lot of rain this time of year.

"Just to get the experience of it, that could happen," said Canales. "That could happen to us early in the season here, with just some of the storms that have been rolling through."

That experience teaches receivers, especially, how to adjust their game when the weather dictates it.

"Some of the guys will opt for just bare-hand kind of playing, and then I think guys that have a level of comfort catching the ball in the body, kind of cradling it that way, tend to find a way to—the rain doesn't affect them as much.

"The true pure hands catching guys, (the rain) makes it more challenging catching away from your body."

Wednesday's forecast calls for much of the same, and with the Cleveland Browns coming to town for a joint practice, it will ratchet up the intensity of the day. But Tuesday was good preparation for the Panthers in trapping that greased pig(skin).