The Carolina Panthers are hosting and working out a veteran quarterback this week.
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Kyle Trask, who spent the 2025 season on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, was seen warming up prior to his workout in Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon. The news that he was expected to be evaluated by Panthers coaches was confirmed by The Charlotte Observer prior to training camp practice.
Workouts generally occur after the team portion of training camp practice concludes, and they’re a league-sanctioned way in which coaches can evaluate players before potentially adding them to the 91-man training camp roster. Those workouts are not open to the media.
The Panthers have three quarterbacks on the roster right now: Bryce Young, free-agent acquisition Kenny Pickett and undrafted rookie Haynes King.
“Kyle Trask is somebody that I love,” Canales told reporters after practice Wednesday. “Had the chance to spend a year with him in Tampa, and we’re (bringing) him in to work him out, to see where he’s at physically.”
The Panthers play an extra game this preseason — the Hall of Fame game in Canton against the Arizona Cardinals — on Aug. 6. That’s a few days before Panthers legend Luke Kuechly gets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Canales wondered aloud whether the addition of Trask gives him more options at QB considering the four-game preseason load.
“Maybe it’s the Hall of Fame game,” Canales said of Trask and his potential role with the Panthers. “And on top of that, maybe it’s just being ready — you don’t know. You never know what happens. But it’s good to just have guys who know the system, to be ready, to be available. And I’m just glad to be able to spend the day with Kyle.”
The franchise brought in Charlotte-area native and NFL veteran Will Grier in April — but the quarterback retired days before 2026 training camp began. Grier recently accepted a job as an assistant offensive coach with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Canales has kept four quarterbacks at this point in camp through his first two years in Carolina. That said, Canales and general manager Dan Morgan told reporters during camp that they didn’t have any plans to bring in a fourth arm after Grier’s departure — and that made sense considering the need for depth elsewhere because of the team’s rampant injury attrition already, particularly along the pass-rushing unit and offensive line.
“No plans right now to bring a fourth guy on,” Morgan said July 22, the day before training camp practice began. “But obviously, we wish Will and his family the best.”
As mentioned, Trask, 28, and Canales have a history together. Trask was a four-year player for the Florida Gators before being drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound QB was in Tampa in 2023 — when Canales was the offensive coordinator and when Trask was competing for the starting job with Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield ultimately won the job and had a breakout year, and Mayfield’s success helped catapult Canales to the head coaching job in Carolina.
In addition to Canales, Trask also has familiarity working with a bevy of Panthers offensive assistants, including run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and offensive coordinator (and newly minted play caller) Brad Idzik.
Now entering his sixth NFL season, Trask has played in seven NFL games and has yet to notch a start, according to Pro Football Reference.
This story was originally published July 29, 2026 at 9:44 AM with the headline “Carolina Panthers bring in a QB Dave Canales ‘loves’ for a training camp workout.”
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