The Carolina Panthers were involved with another scary injury situation on Tuesday during the first day of padded practice when second-year tight end Mitchell Evans was carted off the field at practice with a left leg injury suffered during 11-on-11 drills.

After practice, head coach Dave Canales told reporters that Evans is getting tested for an ankle injury that he “rolled up” but the training staff is fully optimistic about his status. However, the team will do a full evaluation just to make sure.

This is the second time in the cart has been brought out for a promising second-year player at Panthers training camp. Last week, second-year outside linebacker Nic Scourton was carted off the field with a knee injury and later diagnosed with a torn ACL, ending his 2026 season before it even got started. Following Scourton’s injury, the NFLPA actually opened an investigation to make sure the Panthers were following proper practice rules.

“We’re aware that they’re looking into,” Canales told reporters. “We have the rules, we have the standards, we let them know. All we can really do is lay the groundwork out, show the guys good examples of what it looks like and go from there.”

The Panthers have been plagued by injuries this offseason with Turk Wharton (neck) and Taylor Moton (blood clots) being other players out indefinitely with major injuries. Rob Hunt (back), Damien Lewis (calf), and Chris Brazzell II (knee soreness) were also held out of Tuesday’s practice as a precaution.

Mitchell Evans was earning positive praise prior to his injury at training camp

Evans was drafted by the Panthers in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He recorded 19 receptions for 171 yards as a rookie while playing behind Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders, however he showed plenty of developmental promise.

Late last week, Canales had encouraging things to say about Evans after the first few sessions of his second training camp with the team.

“A lot of confidence right now with Mitch,” Canales said Friday. “He looks really smooth. He looks like he’s been working on his route craft and watching him in routes on air, watching him in our 7-on-7 periods, he’s really moving with a lot of confidence, and you can also see the understanding of the concepts. When a guy looks comfortable, he knows what’s happening.”

Injuries have been a recurring issue in the past for Mitchell Evans

Unfortunately, injuries have been a consistent theme throughout Evans’ career. After playing in 13 games as a true freshman for the Fighting Irish in 2021, the former three-star recruit suffered a broken foot prior to the 2022 season. The injury required surgery to repair his fifth metatarsal and limited him to eight games that year, where he caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The 2023 season brought Evans’ big breakout. He recorded 29 receptions for 422 yards and a touchdown across eight games before a torn ACL during Notre Dame’s win over Pittsburgh cut his year short. That led to a slow start heading into his final season in 2024, but Evans still managed to play in 16 games for the first full healthy season since his freshman year. He finished that campaign with 43 receptions for 421 yards and three touchdowns.

Canales will provide an update on Evans’ full evaluation on Wednesday but the Panthers are hoping for the best this time around after another scary situation.