CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked Wednesday afternoon if he was concerned about the cornerback position.

"Not now," he began.

The Panthers have addressed it in a hurry lately — bringing four new guys in over the last week as they try to upgrade the group around Jaycee Horn and veteran nickel Troy.

General manager Dan Morgan claimed three cornerbacks off waivers Wednesday — Keenan Isaac, Shemar Bartholomew, and Tariq Castro-Fields — after trading for former Seahawks starter Mike Jackson last week.

"We've got guys to look at, so just again gathering as much information," Canales continued. "We were hoping for somebody to just step up and take it and really show us what they can do.

"For me, it's my responsibility, Dan and I, to really bring in the traits and the type of guys that we're looking for. So I'm excited to get the look, (for someone) to show up and take it."

Canales said that if they played today, Jackson would likely start opposite Horn against the Saints in a week and a half. But he looked forward to seeing each of the new guys get a chance. As a group, the four new guys are bigger than the guys they're replacing, which speaks to Canales' mention of "traits" they were looking for on defense.

But this also figures to be a roster in transition for a bit, so while the wholesale changes at cornerback may have been surprising, they're trying to upgrade the whole roster.

"I just really feel like we owe it to this team to look; we looked across all the league and kind of compared it to the roster we had, and we've been talking about challenging our roster from the beginning," he said. "It really started off with the secondary room, and that was a place that we really wanted to see if we could start trying to get a look at a lot of guys."

— Speaking of cornerbacks, Jackson held his first press conference since the trade last week. For starters, he prefers Mike, though his family will still call him Michael.

And he got a chance to weigh on a teammate-again Jon Rhattigan (another one of the six claims), saying the linebacker and special teamer was a "dog," which will be music to the ears of Morgan and the front office.

Asked how he'd define a dog, Jackson had a lot of material.

"Everybody is a dog, but you got different kinds," he began. "So you got chihuahuas, you got pit bulls, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Neapolitan Mastiff. So, yeah, I'm a dog person. So it's like you've kind of got to pick and choose what kind you are. Like that doesn't mean to be a chihuahua. But at the same time, you can't just in every situation, be trying to be aggressive and over the top."

Jackson declared himself "a pitbull but with the body of a Neapolitan Mastiff."

"Y'all know what a pit bull is, right?" he said. "So that demeanor. But have you ever seen a Neapolitan Mastiff? They are huge. My grandfather had one and they've got a bunch of wrinkles in their face, but they can get up to like 150 pounds as a puppy."

— The Panthers are a little short on tight ends at the moment, as Ian Thomas is still not practicing, and Tommy Tremble has been limited recently.

Tremble said the plan was for him to be ready for the opener at New Orleans, the question is who will be with him.

Canales deferred when asked about Thomas, saying he wanted to stay away from injury questions now that he's close to the regular season. The Panthers have rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders on the active roster, and added veteran Jordan Matthews back to the practice squad to give them another option.

Matthews made fans throughout the locker room and coaching staff with his work ethic and versatility as he made the transition from being a wide receiver earlier in his career.

"What a great achievement for Jordan, to really redefine his career as a tight end, to be reliable, to make plays for us in the preseason games, all camp," Canales said. "He was out there every day, and our tight ends got nicked early, and Jordan stepped up to be the guy he is, from a special teams standpoint. And then, on top of that, from a leadership standpoint, to fight through the little things that he was dealing with, to fight through it to continue to be available.

"And to show guys what it looks like to get out early, to do your body prep, you're crazy about the nutrition, the studying and all that. The professionalism, really"

— The Panthers got to enjoy a rare scorcher by practicing in the late afternoon after a training camp that was mild by every measure (Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Spartanburg anymore).

"We've been spoiled a little bit by this camp, you know, our 9:30 (a.m.) practices have been fantastic," Canales said. "It's been about averaging 75 degrees, partially overcast with a little breeze. So, good to get a little heat.

"We got some good running in at the end. The guys were good and wet afterward; we got the cooling trailer. It was active today. Guys are taking advantage of that; I got in there, too. The metal benches are probably the best part of it, so pretty fantastic."

The Panthers will adjust practices closer to noon during the regular season, which works since they have a lot of 1 p.m. kickoffs.

— After waiving Ihmir Smith-Marsette Wednesday, the Panthers will be looking for a new punt returner.

Canales said that Raheem Blackshear and David Moore are both capable of returning both kicks and punts, as was practice squad running back Mike Boone.

— None of the players the Panthers waived Tuesday were claimed by other teams, but one has already found a new home.

Former Panthers wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. has signed with the 49ers practice squad, according to multiple reports.