By A to Z Sports,Kole Noble

Copyright yardbarker

Replacing Hunt at right guard will be Chandler Zavala while Cade Mays replaces Corbett at center. Zavala has started nine games going on his third season with the Panthers. Mays is a bit more experienced with 15 starts in his career since being drafted in 2022.

“We gotta evaluate all the guys and see how the week goes,” Canales said. “But, right now, the plan is to get Chandler in there and to be able to have Cade. So, get those guys back out there playing together.”

Two absolutely massive blows for Carolina that could lead to more issues for quarterback Bryce Young.

Panthers already had issues with pass protection prior to these major injuries

In the Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, pass protection was a major problem for Carolina. The offensive line as a whole allowed 21 total pressures and three sacks. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu led the team with eight pressures allowed in his first game back following appendix surgery.Mays and Zavala combined to allow four pressures despite each playing less than 20 pass blocking snaps off the bench. Canales mentioned after the game the amount of pressure was caused by not executing assignments, it’s something that desperately needs to get cleaned up.

Young particularly had two massive mistakes in Week 2 that were caused by the pressure being sent by the Cardinals’ defense. The first play involved a strip-sack returned for a touchdown and the other was a pass Young threw while being hit that ended up being intercepted.

Without two key starters in the weeks, or even months, to come, Canales and the rest of his staff will have to be hammering the details with this unit to protect their young quarterback.