Xavier Legette spends his afternoons chasing discomfort the way most receivers chase separation. Inside the Panthers’ facility, the second‑year wideout is already notorious for lingering in the training room long after the athletic trainers have checked him off the list. He is either stretching, needling, hydrating, or anything to stay upright in a league that chews through soft tissue like confetti. Dave Canales, never shy with praise, calls him an “over‑worker”; teammates simply nod when the lights stay on and No. 17 is still on the JUGS machine.
But for all the solo effort, this season will be defined by connection, specifically with Bryce Young, the quarterback whose breakout hopes are tethered to Legette’s second-year leap. “It’s already there,” Legette told NBC of their chemistry. And for stretches late last season, it showed.
“He’s (Legette) gonna be a problem,” Young warned his rivals late in the year. That trust wasn’t built in film rooms; it was born in extra reps after practice. That progress hit a wall this spring. Legette underwent foot surgery early in the offseason, per Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, and was sidelined for OTAs.
Knox published a report about the biggest bust of the 2025 season, and he named the receiver for the Panthers as one to fall face forward this season. As per the report, Knox feels Legette will not participate fully in the opening weeks of camp. And in Canales’ system, the clock waits for no one. “The opportunity’s still there,” Canales said in June, “but availability matters. Especially in July.” For a second-year receiver expected to take a leap, this was worst-case timing. For Bryce Young’s offensive plans in 2025, that’s an even bigger blow.
credits: Instagram account of Xavier Legette
The stakes around Young and Legette have changed. Carolina used a first‑round pick this spring on 6‑foot‑5 Tetairoa McMillan, a contested-catch specialist already eating into first-team reps. And while Legette insists he’s healthy, brushing off rumors of a foot issue and saying he hasn’t missed a single practice, he enters camp with more to prove than ever. Add in veteran Adam Thielen, who led the team in receptions last year, and Legette’s target share is no longer a given. He was Bryce Young’s guy. That was the vision. Now? He’s in rehab while the offense is shifting underneath him.
If Legette emerges as a reliable WR2 or better, Young’s job gets easier—and his narrative might finally tilt from overwhelmed to ascending. If not, Carolina could be staring down a quarterback reset.
While Young’s offensive plans face a massive setback, his own career is in jeopardy. He was the answer to the Panthers’ woes. The first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, he has a poor 6-22 record. Things might change after 2025.
Panthers might part ways with Bryce Young
As FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna laid out, 2025 could either be Young’s breakout or his breaking point. On one side, there’s redemption, a chance to build on a promising second half of last season and finally justify the 2023 blockbuster trade that brought him to Carolina. But there could be a collapse on the other side. A regression back into the disoriented, overwhelmed version of Young we saw in early 2024. That might end his stay in Carolina.
“The best-case scenario?” McKenna said. “All that progress Young showed is legit. In the second half of last season, Young looked like a player worthy of going in the top picks of the draft.” He’s right. Bryce Young began to flash. He threw 7 touchdowns to just 2 picks over the final five games. The ball came out cleaner. The pocket presence returned. For a moment, Carolina believed again.
But the floor? It’s scary. “All those early issues Young showed were real,” McKenna warned. “In the first half of last season, Young looked like a player worthy of getting benched.” That’s the subtext not many are saying out loud. The biggest point is that the Panthers might trade him if he doesn’t perform in 2025.
They’ve already stocked up talent. Canbales has another play-caller in Andy Dalton. Moreover, they even used a first-rounder on wideout Tetairoa McMillan to give Bryce Young no excuses. But if this year starts to mirror 2023? If by Week 5, the Panthers are 1-4 and Young is skittish again? Trade chatter might get louder.
This isn’t about pressure. It’s about timing. If Young shines, the Panthers have their franchise quarterback. If not, they’ll look elsewhere, and fast.
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