CHARLOTTE — There were a lot of bucket hats and ball caps on the practice field, with a handful of veterans getting maintenance days Monday after a strenuous padded practice on Sunday.

And from listening to Dave Canales talk about it, Thursday's preseason opener might have a similar vibe.

While saying he won't make a final decision on playing time until after Tuesday's practice (which will be in full pads), Canales didn't rule out keeping quarterback Bryce Young out of the preseason altogether. He acknowledged the needs for reps with new center Austin Corbett and in general for an all new offense, but was also sensitive to the needs to have guys healthy going into the regular season.

"There could be," Canales replied when asked whether Young might not play at all in the preseason. "You know, I keep going back and forth with that because there's some value to just allowing him to play with Austin. And then there's also the flip side of which we know we're counting on those guys, and that's another approach too, and different teams have different philosophies for how they do that.

"So that's something that I've been kind of wrestling with."

Preseason reps have declined for starters in general in recent years, and many starting quarterbacks don't play at all until the regular season opener.

Young, who played sparingly in the preseason last year, said he trusted Canales and the staff to make the right decision, coming down on neither side of the fence when asked if he needed to play.

"I think it's a process, and I trust in whatever they feel like the process is," Young said. Obviously, us being back, we all are competitors. We all are excited for the season. We're all excited to be on the field together and compete. We all have that competitive edge to us.

"And then, as far as the preseason goes, I'll just trust coach with that."

Young got 54 total snaps in his rookie preseason, with 11 snaps in the opener (after the joint practice with the Jets), 21 in the second game and 22 in the third.

But he said there was a benefit for him to playing last year, to understand the difference between the college game and the NFL.

"I think that you learn how good people are in the NFL," Young said. "Everyone's out there, preseason or regular season, it's the best of the best competing, going at it. It's the best of best trying to do everything they can on every given down.

Just how the level of focus was the same, everyone came out with the same intensity, and again, with that being kind of my introduction last year, it was just cool to see how just the level of play that the NFL was at that time. So it was great."

When asked if he thought he'd be OK going into the regular season, Young shrugged and said again that he was "super-confident" in whatever Canales decided.

— Canales said that the testing on rookie wideout Xavier Legette's foot showed no structural damage, but that he wasn't going to play in Thursday's opener. Legette left practice Sunday.

"So, the MRI revealed no fractures in the foot, which is fantastic news for us really to just find that out," he said of the first-rounder, who left practice on Sunday. "So we're day-to-day with him. I would not expect him to play in this preseason game just on the side of caution.

"It wasn't any play in particular; it was just kind of heating up on him. And so, at that point, we just try to get ahead of it. And I think we did a good job of or our training staff identifying that and making sure we took the necessary precautions to make sure he's out there."

— Wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. left practice, after a collision with cornerback D'Shawn Jamison coming across the middle. He stayed down for a few moments, but walked off the field with the athletic training staff.

— It was a big alumni day Monday, with Greg Olsen and Luke Kuechly on the sidelines, along with former tight ends coach Pete Hoener.

— Corbett led a sizable contingent of veteran players who were not practicing Monday.

Also getting a day off were wide receiver Adam Thielen, right tackle Taylor Moton, linebacker Josey Jewell, defensive end A'Shawn Robinson, and cornerback Troy Hill, in addition to the players coming back from injuries.

That serves a maintenance function for the team but also allows those guys to look at it from a different perspective.

"The communication in between," Canales replied when asked what he was looking for from those guys on days they didn't practice. "As we rotate our groups, as that group comes off, I'm just looking for them to connect with the guys. Making sure that, Austin for sure is having those little dialogues with Bryce throughout,, the different things that happen from a protection standpoint and the run game.

"But just seeing them clued in, seeing them investing in our team, so that we're building that camaraderie, and really that togetherness that we're looking for from a locker room standpoint."

— With Moton and Corbett out, the offensive line was a mixed bag Monday as they looked for depth across the board.

Brady Christensen worked with the ones at right tackle, and Cade Mays worked with the starters at center.

Christensen has lined up at all five spots at points this offseason, and until veteran Yosh Nijman is back from the physically unable to perform list, he's likely the best option as the swing tackle behind Ikem and Moton.

— There are a lot of defensive backs who end up playing defense because they can't catch — because if they could they'd have been wide receivers years ago.

Jaycee Horn is definitely not in that group.

Horn made a beautiful one-handed grab while running a scout team rep Monday morning, showing impressive ball skills.

Veteran safety Xavier Woods got some (perhaps unwanted) attention after breaking up a pass but not coming down with the ball. Defensive backs are competitive, and they will get after each other for not making the catch.

It remained a good play by Woods, getting high in the air and breaking up a pass intended for Jonathan Mingo.

— Rookies get to entertain their teammates with songs during team meetings, and fourth-round tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders gave reporters a preview of his performance later today.

Sanders sang a few bars of Luke Combs' "Beautiful Crazy" when prompted.

It wasn't bad, but that room is full of tough graders, and it's unclear what kind of reception he's going to receive.