Carolina Panthers rookie WR Xavier Legette avoids foot fracture after leaving practice early

An MRI showed that Carolina Panthers rookie receiver Xavier Legette did not suffer a fracture in his foot, per Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer.

Legette left practice early Sunday with a lower leg injury, head coach Dave Canales saying the injury was unrelated to the hamstring issue he was dealing with during OTAs earlier this offseason. Canales said that Legette would be further evaluated, but it appears he avoided anything major. He is considered day-to-day.

“It’s something in his lower leg,” Canales said, via Joe Person of The Athletic. “I don’t want to get into any details. We’re just gonna evaluate him this afternoon as a precaution and then we’ll go from there. I’ll have more information for you guys.”

Legette, Carolina’s first round selection (32nd overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft, has been a training camp standout and is expected to be one of quarterback Bryce Young‘s preferred targets this season. The 23-year-old broke out in his final season with the Gamecocks, hauling in 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. The Panthers were high on Legette throughout the draft process, trading up one spot and into the first round to select him.

Xavier Legette avoids major injury after Sunday’s practice

Legette admitted last week he “started slow” to open up camp, with Canales saying he and the rest of the rookies needed to “earn their place.”

“Yeah, not really behind, I guess,” Canales said. “It’s just a matter of I would love for the guys on our team to earn their place. To earn those valuable reps. And he’s getting a lot of work. There’s a measure for all the young guys—show us. Show us you’re working hard. Show us you’re doing all the things the right way so that we can go in with full confidence and trust.

“So, it’s not a knock on him for not doing those things. It’s like, keep showing us who you are and showing us what you wanna do.”

In terms of competing for targets, Legette will do so with Diontae Johnson, acquired back in March from the Pittsburgh Steelers, veteran Adam Thielen and second-year pro Jonathan Mingo. Legette offers something a little bit different than the aforementioned trio, possessing sub 4.4 speed at 6-foot-3, 227 pounds.

Young is excited to work with a wideout with the ability and size that Legette offers.

“That combination of size, speed, how explosive he is, the way he comes out of routes. It’s definitely something that I gotta get used to,” Young recently said. “We’re working on getting that timing down, but I’m super excited.”