Up-and-coming Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton was carted off the field in tears after suffering a heartbreaking leg injury on the first day of training camp.
The team has extremely high hopes for the 21-year-old, who played in all 18 games of his rookie season, but the 2026 campaign got off to a disastrous start on Thursday.
Just hours after reporting back after the break, Scourton was taking part in team drills when he appeared to suffer a right knee injury.
Head coach Dave Canales later confirmed to the media that Scourton, who was drafted No 51 overall last year, would undergo MRI testing immediately.
Multiple reporters shared that Scourton was in tears as he was carted off the field, with practice stopped so the rest of the roster could be with him as he left the scene.
‘I just know how much these guys mean to each other,’ Canales told the media when he was asked about the decision to halt proceedings.
Nic Scourton walks out to the field on Thursday, shortly before suffering his ‘grim’ injury
Panthers practice was immediately stopped after Scourton suffered his ‘serious’ leg injury
It is not the first medical scare Scourton has experienced, after he suffered a collapsed lung during a joint practice with the Houston Texans last summer.
It was initially thought that he had suffered heat exhaustion on August 16, but further testing at a nearby hospital revealed the more serious condition.
He was driven back to Charlotte from Houston after being told he could not fly, and remarkably managed to get back to full health before the start of the season.
Scourton went on to play in the season opener, making eight starts across the entirety of his first season in the league.
Head coach Dave Canales later confirmed that he would immediately head for an MRI scan
Scourton, pictured sacking Justin Fields, played in all 18 Panthers games in the 2025 season
In 2025, he totaled 47 tackles, one pass deflection, a forced fumble and five sacks – the most of any player on the Panthers.
DaShawn Brown, a local Carolina reporter, wrote on X that Thursday’s injury appears ‘very serious’.
A fan account in attendance, meanwhile, said: ‘Grim scene here at practice as players immediately take a knee as Nic Scourton goes down and has to be carted off the field. He’s not putting any pressure on his right leg.’
Carolina’s regular season begins on September 13 when they host the Chicago Bears at Bank of America Stadium.
