What to watch for when Panthers play Patriots in their first NFL preseason game

Carolina Panthers begin their preseason campaign tonight away against the New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 19: A general view of the construction in Gillette Stadium during the preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on August 19, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. / (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Carolina Panthers will kickoff their 2024 preseason campaign on the road this evening against the New England Patriots. While the preseason may not hold much interest for the average NFL fan, it is nevertheless the proving ground for young players and those who are clawing for a spot on the initial 53-man roster. For the truly degenerate among us, the Panthers are seven-point underdogs.

We already know that quarterback Bryce Young, wide receiver Xavier Legette and running back Jonathon Brooks won't be playing for Carolina, so let's focus instead on who will be. At quarterback we will see a whole lot of Jack Plummer and Jake Luton. That's not a pair of private investigators in post-war Hollywood, they're all the Panthers have right now at QB with Andy Dalton sidelined by a training camp injury and Bryce Young in bubble wrap. Plummer is an undrafted rookie making his first start and Luton is a former sixth-round pick who hasn't played in the regular season since 2020.

The biggest thing we'll be watching is a trio of rookie draft picks who should have a chance to earn some real playing time this year. Namely that's tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders out of Texas, linebacker Trevin Wallace out of Kentucky and corner Chau Smith-Wade from Washington State.

Perhaps the most important element to keep track of in tonight's game is the debut of new head coach Dave Canales. While he won't be on the field we'll get our first look at how he operates in a live game situation, including whether or not he plays any starters and if so, how much. It will also be interesting to see how deep he digs into his playbook or if he'll keep things vanilla.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. You can watch nationally on NFL Network and locally on WJZY (FOX) in Charlotte.

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