Carolina Panthers HC Dave Canales gives insight on Haynes King’s injury and how it will impact the remainder of the preseason
Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Haynes King suffered a hamstring injury on the final play of the Hall of Fame Game, prompting the Panthers to bring in quarterback Kyle Trask.
The Carolina Panthers had a slight change at the quarterback position after returning for practice on Sunday.
Ahead of practice, the team announced the official signing of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers second-round pick Kyle Trask after it was reported rookie quarterback Haynes King is dealing with a hamstring injury. King, the undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, was the standout performer during Thursday’s Hall of Fame game and had been building momentum in the Panthers’ quarterback competition before the setback. King is considered week-to-week, according to Joe Pearson of The Athletic.
“From what I understood, it was on that last play where he kind of like lunged and dove for the goal like,” Canales told reporters on Sunday. “Really gave everything he had, literally. Got his hamstring there and we’ll just keep evaluating him on a weekly basis.”
Tough news for Haynes King after an impressive showing
The timing is far from ideal for a young quarterback trying to carve out a roster spot. King stole the show on Thursday, and his performance as a passer stood out even more than his ability as a runner.
The poise and command he showed in the offense, leading that late comeback drive and delivering the game-winning play, had all the marks of a quarterback who belongs in this league. Whether he remains in Carolina long-term remains to be seen, but King was clearly positioning himself to push for the QB2 role behind Bryce Young after that first preseason showcase.
The silver lining for King is that he already put strong tape out there. His Hall of Fame game performance showed enough to generate interest from other teams around the league if things don’t end up working out in Carolina. For now, the focus is simply on getting healthy, getting right, and getting back on the field before roster cutdowns arrive.
Kyle Trask brings some familiarity with Dave Canales’ offense
The Panthers wasted no time finding a replacement arm, bringing in Trask, who they had already worked out with the team earlier in training camp. Trask spent one season in Tampa Bay with Panthers head coach Dave Canales, and that prior relationship made him a natural fit for the short list of quarterbacks to call if a situation like this arose.
“It’s great. I love Kyle,” Canales said. “We had a great year in 2023 in Tampa. It was Baker [Mayfield] and Kyle competing for the job for most of camp. People don’t know how well Kyle did in that process to figure out who our starter was going to be. It was probably two and a half weeks into camp when Baker really started to make strides. But, Kyle did a fantastic job. I would say 60-7o percent of the words that he heard in the past day, since he’s been here, are familiar. He made some really nice throws today in some concepts he knew. I’m so glad to have Kyle here. We’re going to need him as we go through this preseason.”
The Panthers still have three preseason games remaining. Carolina plays the Buffalo Bills on the 15th, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on the 21st, and wraps up the preseason against the Houston Texans on the 28th, with roster cuts coming shortly after.
“I do not see him coming back for this [week’s] game for sure,” Canales added of King. “We’ll keep evaluating him on the following week to see when we can get him back out there. . . We’re going to keep testing him, keep rehabbing him, and we’re going to really try to say ‘OK, is this the week, OK is this not the week, now is this the week?’ We’re really going to take that approach with him.”
Canales added that the starters will play 10-20 plays this weekend in the preseason opener, which may include Young, followed by Kenny Pickett, and then Trask getting clean up duty against the Bills.
It’s overall a tough blow for King, who needed every available snap to prove he deserved a spot on the 53-man roster, whether as a backup or a developmental third quarterback. In the meantime, the Panthers have a capable stopgap now in Trask to serve as the QB3 over the next few days until King is ready to return.
