CHARLOTTE — Football players are prideful. So for Jaycee Horn to admit what he admitted was something.

"They whooped our ass today," the veteran cornerback said after Wednesday's practice.

It was hard to argue, as all three quarterbacks were completing deep balls, with Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Brycen Tremayne, David Moore, and Ja'seem Reed posting highlight-reel catches throughout the day.

Dave Canales actually began his answer about quarterback Bryce Young by pointing out that he's glad the starting cornerback tandem of Mike Jackson and Horn were back, and that the defense was having moments of its own.

But the way the ball was flying around Wednesday, it was hard to call it a good day for the defense.

"Bryce is continuing to just take the next steps," Canales said. "What I see from Bryce right now is just ownership and mastery of the concepts, and now I just see the timing, the rhythm, and just the me-to-you factor with his guys. And watching him throw anticipatory balls to TMac to Jalen Coker. To David Moore, who showed up again with another touchdown. It's like One A Day, it's Vitamin D, D-Mo shows up and makes a play.

"So I just see his level of comfort really showing up with the guys, and I'm excited as we just continue to build on that."

Horn acknowledged that the depth of the receiver position adds a layer to it, as the Panthers have more players than they reasonably have spots for.

And as Young builds off last season, the Pro Bowl corner can see it daily.

"Yeah, he's got it, that's what I know," Horn said. "He's got a lot of weapons; all those guys can go, and I noticed from Bryce just trusting his receivers more, just putting the ball in the air, letting them go make plays. And they whooped our ass today for most of the practice.

"But it's good to see that too just because we know we're coming in with some firepower on the offensive side of the ball, and it's going to help us on Sundays."

Taking a look at options at quarterback

As Canales was conducting his press conference Wednesday, the personnel staff was on the field behind him working out three players, including former Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask.

They haven't made any moves yet, and they may not, considering Canales' point from the other day about the lack of flexibility when you have five players on the active roster and not practicing in addition to injured guys (like Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu, and the rest of PUP and NFIs). They've carried just three quarterbacks since pre-camp retirement of Will Grier, and they do have an extra preseason with next week's Hall of Fame Game.

But Canales' affection for Trask is real, having coached the former second-rounder in Tampa before he came here in 2024.

"Kyle Trask, somebody that I love, got a chance to spend a year with him in Tampa and brought him in to work him out, see where he's at physically, and maybe it's the Hall of Fame Game, and on top of that, it's just being ready for- you never know what happens. But it's good to just have guys who know the system, to be ready and to be available, and I'm just glad to be able to just spend a day with Kyle; he'll be working out here in a second right behind us, and so, really happy to have him here."

The Panthers have seen significant progress from undrafted rookie Haynes King during camp, as he's settling in nicely and moving the third unit well, and as noted above, both Young and backup Kenny Pickett were moving it well Wednesday.

As such, Canales shouted out quarterbacks coach Will Harriger for the work he's done throughout camp.

"Doing a fantastic job getting all those guys ready," Canales said of Harriger. "They're into it, they have tools. I'm really proud of how they're handling the blitz pickup and pressures and having solutions, all the way from Kenny down to Haynes. Whatever it might be, whatever the pressure might be, they have an answer. That goes with all the prep, all the meetings, and bringing it alive on the field ultimately."

Mike Jackson staying focused on practice, not contract

Mike Jackson isn't putting all his eggs in one basket, or counting them before they hatch. He used a lot of egg metaphors on Wednesday. But the lesson extrapolated from all of it was simple: he can't worry about the fact he's in a contract year, with a narrative existing that he has outplayed his current deal with back-to-back years at the top of the league.

"I just kind of look at it as, it is what it is regardless if I feel like I did or I didn't (outplay it)," Jackson explained following Wednesday's practice. "Feelings don't mean nothing in this business because if feelings did, then everybody would be worth $200 million.

"So my job is just to come play ball, and it's like if I have days like I did today, then I ain't going to get what I want. So I got to lock in and just go play ball because at the end of the day the money is going to be there.

Anytime a player is in a contract year, though, there is the hope of a new deal on the horizon. Jackson has finished the last two seasons with some of the best stats of any corner in the league. In 2024, he was third in the NFL with 17 passes defensed. He and Jaycee Horn combined were the best corner duo in the league that season.

Jackson followed that career year up with a league-leading 19 passes defensed in the 2025 regular season, along with four interceptions (tied for eighth in the league, and one interception behind Horn's five; Jackson added another in the postseason).

It's why he answered with certainty that he feels he and Horn are the best duo in the league. But his confidence has to remain focused on the field, not the contract. That's how his entire career has been. As Jackson said, he's never had the luxury of thinking beyond the current year.

He was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys in 2019 and signed a four-year contract, but after being placed on the practice squad, he was signed to the Lions' active roster later that season. Since then, he's subsisted on one- to two-year deals.

"At the end of the day, every year is a contract year, literally because the way my deal is set up, if I ain't do what I was supposed to last year, I wouldn't be here, so it's like just go play ball, the money's going to be there," Jackson pondered. "Don't get me wrong, it's one of the things like, yeah, I'm on the tip of the iceberg, but I'm so far away because if I'm more worried about the money than days like days like today going to start happening in the game and then it's going to be where you don't even deserve no contract.

"If I do what I'm supposed to regardless, the money is going to come no matter where it's at."

He intends to play this season as a contract year. But he knows it will take impeccable play, and after Wednesday's practice, the corner was pretty upset with himself for giving up a couple of passes and dropping an interception.

"I don't play like that. I take pride in not giving up passes, catching picks," he said. "It shouldn't take a day like this for me to go and then have 10 straight great days or whatever. It should just be every single day, like that's what the great ones do. They don't need to get hit in the mouth to then wake up 'Alright, now I'm going to fight.'"

Still, one (relative) bad practice does not derail a career, and Jackson has turned in two top-notch years for the Panthers. Whatever comes next will take care of itself. Jackson's only focus is the next practice.

"It's always focus on today because we don't know what tomorrow can bring, so for me it's kind of like just play it cool, stay true to me," he said. "I could have easily sat out, but I love football too much, so it's like if you were that person in 2018, 2013, and back in '03, be that same guy today."

Injury updates, including good news

The Panthers are still awaiting test results on rookie receiver Chris Brazzell II, who was carted off the field Wednesday after going down with a left knee injury.

But the news was quite positive regarding tight end Mitchell Evans, who left yesterday's practice on a cart but was on the side working out with the rehab group.

"With Mitch Evans, it ended up being kind of a low ankle sprain," Canales said. "So, we're optimistic we can turn him back around and get him back out there for Fan Fest."

Fan Fest is Friday night at Bank of America Stadium, so that's good news indeed.

Horn downplayed the toe issue that landed him on the NFI list before camp. After getting a cut that required stitches, he missed the first week of practice before he was activated Tuesday.

"Just offseason work, a little minor hiccup," Horn shrugged. "I could have come back and played, but it was just playing it safe, so I'm 100 percent. I'm ready to go.