NFC Notes: Derek Carr, Bryce Young, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles on the team being without C Ryan Jensen, who is currently not practicing: “When we go into the season, I don’t think we’re going to have anybody if they haven’t practiced. You always prepare if somebody gets hurt or somebody’s gonna stay hurt, so we prepare that way every day so that hasn’t changed.” (Rick Stroud)
• Bowles noted that the competition could come down to Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett: “Both have had playing time. Both are very good. Both are very smart. Very quick. It’s probably going to down to the last (preseason) game.” (Stroud)

Panthers

Panthers QB Bryce Young has had much made about his size of 5’10 204 pounds and wound up taking some hard hits during his first preseason appearance.

“I feel fine,” Young said of the hard hits, via PanthersWire.com. “Physically, I’m blessed . . . I feel fine now. And, again, for me—whatever people may assume or may think is going on or whatever the expectations are, I don’t control that. Those are what they are. For me, that’s not something I’ve put stock into. It’s not something that’s on my mind. That’s part of the game. Football is a physical sport. It’s part of the job description. You’re gonna get hit—and, again, that’s the game we play. It’s part of the job and you know that’s coming. That’s not something I think of. Can’t let that affect your decision-making or what you’re going through.”

Saints

Saints QB Derek Carr says he could have had a better preseason performance but was happy to hear the fans cheering for him in his New Orleans debut.

“It felt good,” Carr said, via the team’s website. “It was nice to get a couple of situations in there, third down, get some red zone and all that stuff. They don’t tell us how much we’re going to play and all, so, to be able to get a couple of situations in there and throughout the game talk through things with [offensive coordinator] Pete [Carmichael] in certain situations and things like that, in a game-time scenario, it was good. It was a lot of fun. Love being on this side of things in the Dome. I can get used to this place, it’s a lot of fun.”

• Nick Underhill reports that Saints RB Kendre Miller avoided a major injury and later reported that scans revealed a minor sprain in his knee.