The New Orleans Saints saw one of their NFC South rivals significantly weakened on the defensive side on Thursday. Carolina Panthers edge rusher Nic Scourton suffered an ACL injury during practice with the team on Thursday and will miss the entire 2026 NFL season. This was first reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The Athletic's Joseph Person observed Scourton being carted off during team drills at Panthers practice on Thursday. Trainers were focused on Scourton's right knee. Later in the day, it was determined that Scourton had suffered an ACL tear that will cost him his entire season.
After earning a first team All-SEC selection in 2024 with the Texas A&M Aggies, Scourton was drafted 51st overall in the second round of the 2025 NFL
Draft. Scourton tied for the 2025 Panthers team lead with 5 sacks as a rookie. He had 15 pressures and 9 QB hits while adding a forced fumble and 7 tackles for loss among his 47 total stops. In two games against the Saints last season, Scourton had 1.5 sacks and 5 QB pressures. New Orleans won both games. However, the Panthers would win the NFC South with an 8-9 record before going on to lose to the Los Angeles Rams, 34-31, in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Carolina finished 2025 ranked 16th in total defense. Scourton's loss thins out a pass rush that had just 30 total sacks last season. The Panthers signed Jaelan Phillips in free agency this offseason to team with Scourton in hopes of improving that pass rush. Princely Umanmielen, a third round choice in the 2025 NFL Draft, is the favorite to take Scourton's place in the lineup.
New Orleans faces the Panthers at home on Nov. 15 and at Carolina on Dec. 13. The Saints have a potentially strong tackle duo in Kelvin Banks Jr and Taliese Fuaga. More bad news for a Panthers squad hoping for a repeat division title might help New Orleans' chances. Either way, this unfortunate injury for Scourton is a good reminder of how quickly plans can fall apart in such a physical sport.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Panthers lose star edge rusher after first training camp practice
