The last time the Panthers practiced against another team in training camp was 2000 against the Lions, and rookie safety Deon Grant broke his hip, was hauled off in an ambulance with the owner riding along, and wasn’t sure he’d ever play again.
So maybe that’s why the Panthers waited so long to try again.
They announced this morning they’d have joint workouts with the Dolphins at their Spartanburg, S.C. camp on Aug. 19-20. The two teams play in the preseason Aug. 22 in Charlotte.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach [Joe] Philbin, and we’re excited to be working with the Dolphins,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “The Dolphins do some things differently on offense, defense and special teams so it will be an opportunity to work on all three phases of the game in controlled situations with really good tempo. Our players will see some different looks, and it will be a couple days of quality practice for us.”
Grant missed that 2000 season, but recovered to have a productive and prosperous 12-year career, by the way. So maybe it was just a fluke.