Given the limits of the acclimation period, the NFLPA will check video of Nic Scourton ACL tear

Published July 25, 2026 04:24 PM Season-ending injuries are one of the constant risks of training camp, and Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton experienced one on the first day of 2026 practice.Scourton suffered an ACL tear on a field that reporters have characterized as wet. Given that the first five days of camp are supposed to be an “acclimation period,” the outcome merits closer scrutiny.Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL Players Association will review video of the practice to understand the circumstances. If it was a non-contact fluke, that’s one thing. If the Panthers were straying beyond the limits of the acclimation period, it’s another.Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement contains general rules regarding the five-day, on-field acclimation period. Article 23, Section 7(a) provides that "[t]he first day of a Club’s preseason training camp shall be limited to physical examinations, meetings, and classroom instruction; no on-field activities shall be permitted other than running and conditioning.” The on-field work is “limited to Phase One-type conditioning, timing and testing, except that all coaches are permitted on the field.” The CBA prohibits helmets or protective shirts on Day 1, with no footballs, no plays, no walk-throughs, no individual player instruction, no team drills permitted.An ACL tear under those conditions would indeed be a fluke outcome. And it should be easy for the NFLPA to confirm that’s what happened, or to learn that the Panthers may have strayed beyond the permitted activities.