Jets disappoint in tough joint training against Panthers

The New York Jets faced the Carolina Panthers in a heated joint practice in Charlotte on Thursday, and the home team seemed to have the upper hand.

With superstar DT Quinnen Williams and nickel cornerback Michael Carter II unable to play today, it was interesting to see how the Jets defense would fare without those two key players. Additionally, today was QB Aaron Rodgers' first joint practice after missing joint practice with the Washington Commanders last week due to rain.

Here are some key takeaways.

There were numerous fights

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner mentioned last week that head coach Robert Saleh warned his players not to fight during training camp, especially not to throw punches during group practice. Well, that warning from Saleh was clearly not heeded by at least some of the Jets players after the rough-and-tumble action all day.

One of the players involved in a scuffle was DE Michael Clemons. Clemons has been known to lose his temper since his time with the Jets. This is reminiscent of last year's Black Friday game against the Dolphins, where he was ejected after accidentally slapping referee Carl Paganelli on an extra point. Today, Clemons punched Panthers RB Mike Boone in the helmet after Boone shoved Clemons after a running play. Afterward, several players from the Jets and Panthers pounced on the two veterans, causing a huge commotion.

Before training together against the Commanders last week, Saleh shared his thoughts on skirmishes in training.

“You get caught up in these shoving matches, but like I told our guys, if you throw a punch, you're out of the game. So don't do that in practice.”

Another incident occurred when Panthers WR Terrace Marshall caught a touchdown over Jets CB DJ Reed and then threw the ball to Reed while he was on the ground. Reed then got up, threw the ball back to Marshall and Jets safety Chuck got in Marshall's face. That's all that happened, but it shows how much these players' patience can be tested in training camp.

Carolina won

The Jets defense and offense did not play well today against a Panthers team that is coming off a terrible 2-15 season.

Second-year Panthers QB Bryce Young had a fantastic day, picking apart the Jets' secondary for a couple of touchdowns. One touchdown came in the red zone and it appeared there was a miscommunication on the play between Gardner and safety Tony Adams. Dave Canales was brought in as the Panthers' new head coach this offseason and brought with him an offensive mindset, and it looks like that has rubbed off on Young so far. Still, it's not very encouraging that the Jets have struggled after fielding a top-5 defense in 2023.

The offense wasn't anything special either. Rodgers didn't have the best day, completing 15 of 23 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions. The offensive line wasn't great overall, allowing three or four possible sacks.

Rookie Olu Fashanu continued to put in an impressive performance and was a bright spot in the offense, which really got going at the end when Rodgers found WR Garrett Wilson for a touchdown on one of the last possessions of the practice.

More news about the New York Jets:

• Hackett explains 'cool thing' about Jets' inexperienced RB room

• Former Jets $45 million man signs with Dallas Cowboys

• Saleh strongly denies negative impact of Jets' Haason-Reddick saga

• Failed Jets experiment gets chance to start for Vikings

• Non-retired former New York Jets receiver aims for NFL comeback