Falcons

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins admitted in Netflix’s Quarterback documentary that he played through injury to avoid losing his starting job last year.

“Once I lost my shoulder and my elbow, should I have sat out? Should I have done something different in my rehab? You know, you have all those questions,” Cousins explained, via Falcons Wire. “With the information I had at the time, I made the best decision, but you also know that if you sit down Week 10, and take two or three weeks or more to let it heal, you may never get your job back.”

The show also captured a conversation between Cousins and Panthers QB Andy Dalton about his benching following the final game of the season.

“Yeah man, it’s been three weeks and it’s felt like three months,” Cousins said, via Falcons Wire. “I was just turning the ball over. I just couldn’t figure it out. For me, the turnovers have come in bunches in my career. Like in Washington, I got benched my third year and then one year, I was leading the league in picks halfway through the year but then I was able to flip it around and play a lot better after the bye, but same thing happened here.”

Panthers

Panthers DE Princely Umanmielen said RB Chuba Hubbard and CB Jaycee Horn are always trash-talking back and forth in practice. 

“It’s usually always Jaycee and Chuba,” Umanmielen said, via Joe Person of The Athletic. “Chuba’s always yapping. He’s a big trash talker. So the defense always goes at it with him.”

This season will be the first time Hubbard will have the same coach for two consecutive years with Dave Canales. The running back is confident that the continuity will help their chemistry. 

“Obviously, the last four years I’ve been here, it’s been a new head coach, new scheme, new system,” Hubbard said. “So to build off what we had last year, which I believe was really good — and to build off that chemistry — I mean, we see it out here. Just the way we’re practicing, the way we trust each other, the way we’re communicating, it’s starting to show. Just the more we practice, the more we play, the closer we’re gonna get and the better we’re gonna get.”

Hubbard goes into the season as Carolina’s lead back alongside Rico Dowdle and fourth-round rookie Trevor Etienne. He thinks they have created a healthy running backs group. 

“Usually in the running back room, sometimes it can be a little off,” Hubbard said. “But everyone’s cool in our room, and that’s a blessing. I don’t take that for granted.”

Panthers

Taylor Moton is entering the ninth year of his career after being a second-round pick by the Panthers in the 2017 NFL Draft. Moton, who has one year left on his deal, believes he has “another contract in me.” 

“Looking forward, I do believe I have another contract in me,” Moton said, via Joe Person of The Athletic. “But right now my focus is on the 2025 season and making sure I do whatever I can to have the best season I can for everybody involved.”

Moton missed time with a triceps and knee injury last season. The offensive tackle admitted his issues are “chronic stuff,” and he’s figuring out how to effectively play through them. 

“It’s chronic stuff. Most linemen deal with it. But it’s just figuring out what we can do to make sure it’s limited and I’m still able to explode off it, which right now I can and I feel like I can in the future,” Moton said. “After a while, you start learning more about it and what can we do to make sure it’s as little of an issue as possible. I feel like I’m moving like I was when I was younger.”

Panthers C Austin Corbett thinks Moton visibly grew as a pass blocker and called him the best pass protector in the league, “by far.”

“Now the thing that’s changed is I think he’s the best pass-blocking tackle by far,” Corbett said. “To be able to watch his consistency over my three seasons with him, the things that he does — I don’t know why he’s not being talked about (more). Awesome.”