The preseason opener became a day off for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

Panthers coach Dave Canales said Monday he plans to give Kenny Pickett the start in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Undrafted rookie quarterback Haynes King could see the field early and is expected to play most of the second half for the Panthers.

Pickett, 28, spent last season as the primary backup to Geno Smith with the Las Vegas Raiders and started two games. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Sitting starters in the first game of the preseason is nothing new, and keeping quarterbacks under wraps for the Hall of Fame Game is standard practice.

“We have a good number of (non-starters) that will be helping out early on in the game, just because we don’t want to overload any one particular group on our team,” Canales said. “We do have practices leading into the game, and we have practices coming out of it, so I felt that with a number of guys being out there, being able to take a couple of series will really help the whole group, and we just need the football.

“I’m excited about it. Kenny is excited as well as the rest of the group.”

Right guard Robert Hunt (back) returned to practice on Monday. Canales also confirmed the Panthers activated defensive tackle Bobby Brown III from the non-football injury list.

–Field Level Media