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The Carolina Panthers may have had their starting nickel all along.
Despite piecing together one of the most impressive offseasons in the NFL, the Panthers have seemingly neglected to address their weakness at slot cornerback. But head coach Dave Canales, when speaking with reporters following the team's second outing of rookie minicamp on Saturday, might've hinted at a solution that was already in place.
"That position right there—we have Chau [Smith-Wade] coming back," Canales stated. "We have Corey Thornton, who really won the job during the season last year and got an opportunity until he got hurt. So there's a great competition already happening."
Thornton signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent last spring, and proceeded to turn heads during workouts through the summer. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder went on to appear in eight contests as rookie before sustaining a broken fibula in Carolina's Week 12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The game prior saw Thornton record a career-high 46 defensive snaps during a 30-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons. His efforts in that victory earned him a 70.1 overall defensive grade and a 75.8 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
Smith-Wade ended up as the unit's primary defender from the slot in 2025. He finished the campaign with a team-leading 366 snaps from the inside.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales says CB Corey Thornton won nickel job in 2025
Continue reading...
Despite piecing together one of the most impressive offseasons in the NFL, the Panthers have seemingly neglected to address their weakness at slot cornerback. But head coach Dave Canales, when speaking with reporters following the team's second outing of rookie minicamp on Saturday, might've hinted at a solution that was already in place.
"That position right there—we have Chau [Smith-Wade] coming back," Canales stated. "We have Corey Thornton, who really won the job during the season last year and got an opportunity until he got hurt. So there's a great competition already happening."
Thornton signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent last spring, and proceeded to turn heads during workouts through the summer. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder went on to appear in eight contests as rookie before sustaining a broken fibula in Carolina's Week 12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The game prior saw Thornton record a career-high 46 defensive snaps during a 30-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons. His efforts in that victory earned him a 70.1 overall defensive grade and a 75.8 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
Smith-Wade ended up as the unit's primary defender from the slot in 2025. He finished the campaign with a team-leading 366 snaps from the inside.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales says CB Corey Thornton won nickel job in 2025
Continue reading...
