CHARLOTTE — The Panthers will get their first look at the starters Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, and that will include running back Jonathon Brooks.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Wednesday that Brooks would work alongside running back Chuba Hubbard with the ones, allowing them their first look at him on the field since 2024.

"Absolutely," Canales replied, eliminating any doubt when asked if Brooks would make his debut.

Brooks missed all of last season after a second torn ACL in his rookie year, but has looked strong throughout training camp.

He hasn't been on a game field since Week 14 of 2024, but Canales likes what he's seen so far.

"He's in great shape; He's ready to rock, he's ready to play football," Canales said. "And so now that's just the next part of it. And you know, he'll play with the first group, he'll mix in and out with Chuba, and we'll be able to get a good look at those guys with a couple of drives."

Brooks has been a full participant throughout camp, and has worked with the ones throughout, but playing against an opponent is the next big hurdle in his comeback story.

"Eliminating the gray" to slow practice fights

After Monday's scuffle in practice that led to some extended leadership meetings, Canales said they cleared the air in the team meeting room to make sure they were all on the same page.

With continued contact against the same people, who happen to be your own people, tempers will inevitably flare, but Canales said he wanted to specify what was and wasn't kosher when they watched film of Monday's practice.

"Yeah, I got great feedback from the guys following their conversations," Canales said. "And the offense said they're comfortable with this physical, as we want to make them practice. The defense, that's the way they play. So we had an opportunity in the team meeting to just say, OK, let's take the gray out of some of these situations, and that falls on me. If there's a gray area, that's because I didn't define it well enough, so we took some clips from practice that led to the scuffles.

"We looked at what it was that felt offensive that might have brought that frustration and kind of brought it to a head. And so we just watched the plays together, and we had an open forum conversation. Guys talked about what they could do better. If the guy didn't quite have the information, I said, 'Here's how I see this play playing out.' So we just attacked it that way.

"The one thing is these guys are pushing each other. They understand we make us, we make us better, by everybody going as hard as physically possible; that brings out the best in each other, so we need that. But there are moments where we can do better, and we improved that today."

Injury updates, including Damien Lewis

Left guard Damien Lewis participated in some individual drills Wednesday, his first extended work since a calf issue earlier in camp.

After individual, he was back on the side with right guard Robert Hunt (back), as they continue to ease them back into action. There's no hurry, since they have an extra preseason game, and Canales said the priority is having them ready for a long season.

"D-Lew looked great, was able to move around some," Canales said. "We kept him out of team, got him some extra work on the side, and then that'll be his next progression."

Canales said Lewis would not play Saturday at Buffalo. With Lewis and Hunt out lately, they've used Chandler Zavala and Brady Christensen with the starting line.

"I don't think he'll play, just right now because we haven't gotten him into the team setting," Canales said of Lewis. "That level of conditioning, I'm not ready to put him out there right now."

Outside linebacker Patrick Jones II was held out of practice Wednesday.

Canales said it was just an illness, and they wanted to make sure to get him rehydrated.

"It's kind of like the snowball effect: if somebody's dehydrated, dealing with some type of an illness, then all of a sudden your soft tissue and everything becomes vulnerable, so we want to give him another day to recuperate. He should be back tomorrow."

Jimmy Horn's stacking skills to stand out

Jimmy Horn Jr. arrived for his post-practice press conference a little miffed. It was family day at Panthers practice, with significant others, kids, and parents littered up and down the sideline. That meant King of Pops was on site to provide a post-practice treat on a hot day.

Horn had been enjoying his popsicle, a mango tangerine, when he caught media members staring his way, waiting on him to walk over.

"I dropped my popsicle," Horn immediately accused when stepping behind the mic, "cause you were looking at me!"

So, someone owes Jimmy Horn a new popsicle. But that's about the only thing he's dropped so far this training camp.

The second-year receiver came into camp lost among the shuffle of a deep corps, something that wasn't his fault, just his reality. The Colorado product has spent the past two-and-a-half weeks, though, putting everything he has into everything he can possibly do to stand out.

"It's really being in the system again," explained Horn. "And everything is slowing down for me learning to play better."

One way Horn has been speeding things up by slowing things down is stepping up in punt and kick return. As a rookie, he had only one attempt on a punt return, and it was a fair catch. In college, he was sparingly used on both punt and kick returns for the Buffaloes. But he's fast, and he's shifty, so Horn knows he can find a niche in that part of the game.

"Back there is actually more like, it's kind of like running back like, setting up your blocks and just following through the game plan," explained Horn. "It's really like just being a ball player once the ball is in your hand. Making smart decisions and all that good stuff."

Horn, who had one kick return for 25 yards in Thursday night's Hall of Fame preseason game against the Cardinals, is currently second on the depth chart as returner behind Trevor Etienne, and it's because of how he's taken advantage of every opportunity, said Canales.

But it's in the offense that Horn really wants to make his impact. It showed up during Thursday's game when he finished with four receptions for 44 yards, including a catch on a third-and-15 from Haynes King that converted on a highlight play.

"It was just a sail route, and we find the open zone," shared Horn. "The nickel, he was wide, not to the flat, so I just wrapped around and Haynes gave me a pretty nice ball over the top."

It was a manifestation of everything Canales has seen from Horn, and wants to continue to see through the rest of the preseason.

"Jimmy made a great case," said Canales. "We talked, I think the week before, just opportunities. The ball just wasn't finding him in practice, but all of a sudden you get in the game, he's still fast, he's still tough, he's still competitive, and all of a sudden he's making these plays that we've been wanting to see him make.

"And so he really did a great job representing himself in that game and just getting a few more reps with the first group and second group, in the last couple of practices."

Monroe Freeling continuing to improve

The Panthers had plans for first-round rookie Monroe Freeling to have some time before starting. He was competing for much of the offseason with Rasheed Walker for the left tackle spot, both rotating with first-team reps. But then, the news of Taylor Moton's blood clots changed everything.

Suddenly, the rookie was a starter and at what was technically a new position: right tackle.

The Panthers have worked with the Georgia product this training camp on switching sides, essentially learning how to do the same thing but in a different direction. Now, halfway through camp, Canales sees his rookie narrowing in on the details.

"Really right or left, it's just a matter of fine-tuning his technique, the things he needs to work on," explained the coach."He and (offensive line coach) Joe (Gilbert) have been working on that all through camp."

Freeling's best teacher, though, may be Jaelan Phillips. The veteran pass-rusher often lines up opposite the rookie. While Phillips can't technically sack the quarterback in practice, he's forcing Freeling to grow up quickly, as he did again on Wednesday. But Freeling is also holding his own in one-on-ones, far from overmatched against a veteran.

"That last drive right there, you know, Jaelan Phillips had some really nice rushes, creating some pressure on the quarterback with Monroe on that side," said Canales. "And so it's good for him to be able to have success, deal with some of the challenges that come up with dealing with a really good player and just continue to take each step daily."