The Carolina Panthers are opening the 2026 preseason with Kenny Pickett at quarterback, and they are doing it on the NFL’s biggest exhibition stage. Pickett will start for Carolina on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
That makes this more than a warm-up. The Hall of Fame Game is the preseason opener, and the timing is sharpened by what comes two days later, when Luke Kuechly and Larry Fitzgerald are enshrined in the Class of 2026. Carolina has not played in this game since 1995, when the franchise beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-14 in its first game. Arizona, meanwhile, is making its sixth appearance in the Hall of Fame Game and its first since 2017, carrying a 1-3-1 mark into a matchup that also marks Mike LaFleur’s debut as head coach.
For the Panthers, the quarterback decision lands in the middle of a camp shaped by absences. Carolina lost Nic Scourton to a torn ACL during the first two weeks of camp, lost Chris Brazzell II to a torn LCL during the same span and is also without Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu and Tershawn Wharton because of injuries and surgery recovery. That narrows the evaluation window and makes every rep in Canton count more than it normally would, because the team is trying to sort out its roster while leaning on players it may not have planned to use so early.
Pickett’s start also tells the story of how Carolina plans to use the night. Bryce Young is not taking the first snap, and the Panthers can only afford a limited look at the top of the depth chart in a game meant to test timing, depth and readiness rather than settle anything final. Arizona enters with its own quarterback setup taking shape, with Carson Beck set to start and Jacoby Brissett in line as QB1 after a reworked contract, but the more immediate focus belongs to Carolina and how long Pickett stays on the field before the preseason work becomes a larger survey of available bodies than a clean competition. Thursday night will not answer everything, but it will show how much of the Panthers’ early season can be built from the players they still have on hand.
