Falcons

The Falcons added OLB  James Pearce Jr. with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Atlanta OLBs coach Jacquies Smith said Pearce has been proving he’s a ferocious and violent edge rusher. 

“Defenses are supposed to be known as ferocious, violent, all the strong words that you can use, so when you can add a little bit of edge the right way, obviously we are always looking for guys like that,” Smith said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “He’s been proving it.”

Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich mentioned that Pearce has been eager to make an impression since joining the team. 

“He’s as prideful as it gets,” Ulbrich said. “He wants to come out here and make a strong impression on everybody, himself included, that he can do this and do this at a high level. When every ounce of your body is trying to prove who you are, it can get a little wacky sometimes. His anger got the best of him at times, and it’s going to be a great learning experience for him.”

Pearce got into a scuffle with OL Matthew Bergeron and Kaleb McGary in training camp. Bergeron said there are no problems between the two and is glad to have Pearce on his side. 

“It stays on the field,” Bergeron said. “We love each other in the locker room. I’m not worried about that. We talked it out, and everything is great. James is a great player. He’s disruptive. When you have a bunch of passionate players, things like that happen. It’s a physical game. We’re playing football. Sometimes the tempers go up. I’m glad James is on our side. I remember being a rookie. You don’t want to let anyone step on your toes, and I respect that. I think he’s going to be a great player, and he’s going to make a lot of plays.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales was asked about sixth-round WR Jimmy Horn, who has been turning heads so far in training camp.

“Yeah, I just love the way that he plays football. It’s full speed all the time,” Canales told PanthersWire.com. “Some guys, we have to really teach them how to get in a walk-through mode. He’s one of those guys. Everything he does is fast. I think about Deven Thompkins—who I love, who was here last year. They just bring out the best in everybody because you know, when they’re out there, they’re going 100 miles per hour, full speed, and they’re looking to take the top off. So, I love that style about Jimmy. And what he’s shown us—whether it’s in drills or in the team periods, he’s just all gas.”

• Panthers WR Adam Thielen said he got more questions about WR Xavier Legette than anyone else this offseason: “He’s just a great personality, right? Like, he’s exactly why I enjoy coming to work every day.” (David Newton)
• Panthers TE Ja’Tavion Sanders said he played at 255 pounds last year during his rookie season. This year, he’s cut his weight to 238 pounds. (Mike Kaye)

Josey Jewell 

The Panthers recently released veteran LB Josey Jewell after one year in Carolina. Dave Canales was glad to have a leader like Jewell in his first season as the Panthers’ head coach. 

“And first to talk about Josey, you talk about a leader,” Canales said, via PanthersWire. “Guy didn’t say a lot. When he talked, people listened. The toughness, the character, the aggressive style of play. Always makin’ plays on the ball throughout his career, the reason why we brought him here. And I think for me—as a first-year head coach last year—to have somebody that I could point to who really exemplifies the type of the effort, the type of physicality, the character. He’s a no-nonsense guy. He wants guys to just look at the truth of what it was, get to the bottom of it and fix it, and he’s always at the heart of those conversations. So it’s a big loss, definitely for us from that standpoint.”

As for LB Christian Rozeboom joining their defense, Canales points out that Rozeboom is coming off the best year of his career.

“It’s great opportunities for that whole group,” Canales said. “Christian, obviously, had like 136 tackles or something last year. Played on a playoff defense. Really played probably the best year of his career last year. And for us to be able to have him here is huge.”

Canales also named linebackers like Claudin Cherelus, Jacoby Windmon, Bam Martin-Scott, Sivi Nomura, and Jon Rhattigan as players who could make a difference in 2025. 

“When you talk about a guy like Claudin Cherelus, Jacoby Windmon, Bam Martin-Scott, Sivi Nomura coming in from Fresno State and Jon Rhattigan—it’s a really talented, young group,” Canales said. “They’re very athletic, they got aggressiveness to the style of play, they fit what we’re looking for. So it’s a great opportunity for those guys.”