CHARLOTTE — The Panthers call their first practice of each week "Work Wednesday." It tells the team it's time to hit the field and get right back to it, regardless of Sunday's outcome. While this week's Work Wednesday took on a decidedly lighter tone as Dave Canales flipped the days of padded practice, the work was still present.

Receiver Adam Thielen, who remains on injured reserve (hamstring) and tackle Taylor Moton (triceps) who is week-to-week but not playing this Sunday, made sure to stay in their teammate's ears, as Thielen walked guys through drills and Moton yelled out instructions from the sidelines.

Sitting at 1-4 and dealing with a rash of injuries, Canales knows asking for this kind of attitude – continuing to work and help each other – from his team is easier said than done. But these are also the times, the coach said Wednesday, a team is made.

"For me as the head coach to know that a group is playing with everything they have, they're giving the effort that you want," Canales said Wednesday. "If you put the film on, we play hard.

"Are we playing right all the time? No, but that's where we're headed. We're trying to figure out that part of it but all I can ask for is that they're giving everything they got and I know that's just, that shows a sign of respect, not just for me, but for each other, for the team.

"And so, to me, like that's the most important piece is, if we can continue to lean into the gratitude that everybody is working, everybody is grinding: the coaching staff, the training staff, everybody else in this building, you know, everyone's pulling in the same direction, trying to take the next step, trying to take a weekly advancement. Can we push our football forward just one week at a time, one day at a time? And really, that's the focus and that lasts.

"That's the thing that can last is, can we go back to work? Can we control the things that are within our control? That's our effort, that's our attitude. And the football part will grow with us as we go."

One time at camp…

Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins entered the league just one year apart. They've bounced around to a handful of teams, making Pro Bowls here and there, getting sent away for younger models and then doing it all again. Now they're both in the NFC South, holding on to starting roles and sitting atop stat charts.

It's a long way from the dorm room the two shared as camp roommates in college. The TCU (Dalton) and Michigan State (Cousins) quarterbacks both served as counselors for the Elite 11 camp in 2010 and began a friendship that has lasted through years in the league, from shared Pro Bowls (2016) to matchups that has seen Dalton go 1-2-1 as a starter against Cousins as a starter.

"The first time I played him was in London and we tied. A long trip over there to end in a tie," Dalton joked. "So, a guy that I followed for a long time, his college career, then all everything that he's been able to do in the NFL. I mean, talk about a guy that has played at a high level for a long time, has been steady and he's been a ton of fun to watch."

Canales' interactions with Cousins' have been fewer and farther between, but nonetheless impactful. Following the 2019 season, Canales and the Pete Carroll Seahawks staff coached the NFC team at the Pro Bowl. Cousins was one of the NFC quarterbacks that year, one of his four Pro Bowls.

"He was so conscientious about everything and just the relation, the way he went about it, he connects with people," Canales recalled Wednesday of his time with Cousins. "I remember a bus ride, you know, we're going to one of the practices and they allowed us to have our kids on the bus and (Kirk) sat there with my daughter, Ashby who was probably 11 years old at the time and sat there and had a great conversation. So just a great human too. I can't say enough good things about him."

The week in Orlando also gave Canales an up-close look at the process that has defined Cousins' career.

"He's so dialed in, he's a student of the game. He understands coverage, he understands the different attacks that a defense tries to put on their offense. He understands his system.

"The rhythmic way, the efficient way that he plays, getting the ball out quickly, finding those quick completions knowing when he can take his shots, he kind of just has that sense about him. And he's so accurate. He's been that way for his career. So, I have so much respect for him."

Injury Updates

Both cornerback Dane Jackson (hamstring) and tight end Ian Thomas (calf) were full participants on Wednesday, a positive step in the right direction of a return for both players. Both were limited all of last week, in their first action since their practice window was opened to return from the injured reserved list. The Panthers active roster currently has one open roster spot but will have a second once center Austin Corbett is placed on IR with his season-ending biceps tear.

Given the currently flexibility with the roster, Canales said this "absolutely could be the week" for their return. It would still depend on how the remainder of the week goes in practice though.

"These guys who are just chomping at the bit to get back out there," Canales said. "Both guys really have taken that long process of getting themselves back to the readiness to return to football, and so now this being their second week, this is a huge window for them these next couple of days to stack it to make sure they look right, they look confident, they're playing fast and there's no hesitation in their play. And they're certainly headed in that direction."

New and Old Faces

The Panthers brought back offensive lineman Cade Mays to the roster this week. Mays was drafted to Carolina in 2022 and stayed in Charlotte until the end of training camp this season. He spent some time on the New York Giants practice squad in the interim. With Corbett's season ending injury and Moton's week-to-week status, the club wanted to add depth along the line with someone who wouldn't have to learn a new playbook.

"Cade gives us flexibility; we had him playing center (and) guard in camp," Canales explained. "With Corbett being down with the biceps, we felt like bringing Cade back in was a good thing, a guy who was familiar with our place. He's got the attitude, everything that we want. So, really excited to have him back here."

The team also signed outside linebacker Shaq Lawson to the practice squad this week. The defensive end is from South Carolina and played at Clemson before being drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Bills in 2016.

Said Canales of the pass rusher, "Just a veteran experience, pass rusher, somebody who gives us some power on the edge and just again, just trying to find a way to continue to add guys to our team to compete in different areas that we would like to see a little spark."

The more things change, the more they stay the same

The offensive line will undergo significant change this week. It's inevitable and impossible to avoid. But while the personnel may look different, with Brady Christensen taking over at center and Yosh Nijman lining up at right tackle, Dalton doesn't expect much else to change.

"We don't expect anything to change with our group up front," Dalton said. That begins with Christensen.

"Brady is a good football player and he's moved and he's played a bunch of different spots on the line and for now him to get this opportunity at center, it's a guy that has played a ton of football and, understands the game well, and now he's just, he's going to be the one that's going to be making calls and doing things."