Carolina Panthers second-round pick hospitalized with collapsed lung after hit in joint practice

Carolina Panthers rookie Nic Scourton, a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was hospitalized after he suffered a collapsed lung during a joint practice session with the Houston Texans. Scourton was not present for Carolina's preseason game against Houston Saturday, as he was driven back to Charlotte with team staff and family members. 

"It was a very physical play," Carolina coach Dave Canales said after the loss to Houston. "It was presenting like a heat exhaustion, because he was having trouble breathing. He was getting tired and all that, so we kind of cooled him down we couldn't get him to respond good enough to where we felt comfortable about putting him back into practice."

Canales also said that Scourton is considered "week-to-week" after being released from the hospital. The Panthers listed Scourton as out for Saturday's game with illness.

The 6-foot-2 and 257-pound Scourton was able to play in Carolina's first preseason game against the Cleveland Browns. He finished his professional debut with two total tackles and one sack. 

Prior to making the jump to the NFL, Scourton spent two years at Purdue, where he led the Big Ten with 10 sacks in 2023, before transferring to Texas A&M ahead of the 2024 season. In his lone campaign with the Aggies, Scourton earned first-team All-SEC honors with 14 tackles for loss and five sacks.