CHARLOTTE Dave Canales sees it practically every day, so it's not as novel to him.

But the sight of cornerbackJaycee Hornand quarterbackBryce Youngjawing at each other during Tuesday's first minicamp practice is still something that others are coming to grips with.

Horn, we know he's a talker (even though he's coming out of his shell as a leader more and more this offseason). But because Press Conference Bryce is so polite and bordering on soft-spoken, people are still getting used to seeing him do his share of the trash-talking.

So others witnessing it just pulls back the curtain on what Canales has seen consistently from those two, running backChuba Hubbard, and others.

"Honestly, it's just been like that," Canales said. "Ever since we started practicing against each other, they, particularly Chuba, Jaycee, Bryce, they're all kind of going back and forth. And the energy for us is never about the opponent; it's never about trying to dominate the opponent; it's about bringing your best. And sometimes they just add their little flavor, and that's kind of part of their personality.

"One of the things is I think about this team is, the better we coach, the better we set the foundation and have expectations, the more comfortable we see them, we start seeing the personality. We start seeing them start to really color what we're doing out here. So I love it. I love that they're going after each other, and they know the goal is to make each other better."

Again, a lot of this is based on the perception of Young as quiet, but Canales has seen him open up during his time here.

"Honestly, he gets really animated," Canales said. "And particularly if you're talking about sports. He loves talking about NBA basketball and college sports during the season. When we're out here on the field, he just has a defiance to him, and that's just kind of his way of competing.

"He's not super animated with it, but he definitely thrives off of that, feeds off of that energy, and he takes his chances when he can because Jaycee's trying to bait him into throwing the ball over there, and he's doing a great job with it. So, and it does bring a level of confidence to the guys to know, like, hey, we're dangerous when we're out here, so I can feel that happening."

Amare Barno sidelined after knee procedure

Outside linebacker and special teamerAmar Barnoisn't practicing this week after what Canales described as a "clean-out procedure" on his knee. Barno, who suffered a torn ACL late in the 2023 season, played in just five games last year after starting the season on the physically unable to perform list.

"Just rehabbing, he had a little clean-out procedure with his knee, and he feels so much better already," Canales said. "That was something we talked to him about. They looked at it, and they said, hey, we can help you here with this, and so I'm excited to get him back out there 100 percent."

Lots of alumni on hand for practice

General manager Dan Morgan was hanging out with a few former teammates, as well as a number of Panthers legends, on the sidelines Tuesday.

From Hall of Honor wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad to linebackers Jon Beason and regular guest Thomas Davis, there was a big crowd.

Also on hand were Jerricho Cotchery, Captain Munnerlyn, Kawann Short, Kurt Coleman, Dwan Edwards, Tre Boston, Colin Cole, Charles Johnson, Jonathan Stewart, and Mike Tolbert, and more are expected around the building during the minicamp.

Stay tuned for more on those visits.

Canales with an all-purpose answer for free agents

The Panthers have been remarkably stable this offseason, and since establishing their 90-man roster with the arrival of undrafted rookies, they have made just one transaction.

But the offseason is all about speculation, and there are plenty of names in the rumor mill.

Canales was asked about potential additions to the secondary before training camp, with the question specifically about former Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (who grew up in Charlotte). He gave a classic example of a coach saying words without indicating much of anything.

"I don't know that for sure," Canales said of looking for outside help. "But we're always open to the chance of just bringing great players in here to create that competition, so I wouldn't say no. But right now, we have to take all the information in, and I'm sure those conversations will happen just to kind of see what they are looking for. It's got to be the right fit for both sides, so those are all things that we'd be open to."

John Fox would have been proud. It was only missing an "It is what it is."