Fans Are Heartbroken For NFL Rookie After ‘Horrifying’ Injury originally appeared on The Spun.
An NFL player is in a lot more trouble than we first realized after a serious injury was found during training camp. Carolina Panthers rookie pass rusher Nic Scourton was diagnosed with heat stroke earlier this week and taken to the hospital, but the team’s prized second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has now been found to be dealing with a very serious issue.
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On Saturday, Panthers head coach Dave Canales announced that Scourton sustained a collapsed lung during Thursday’s practice.
The injury sounds awful
Canales explained that the injury seemed like heat exhaustion at first and so he was taken to a hospital for treatment. However, it was soon determined that the injury was far more serious and there is now a concern that he will miss time.
“It was a very physical play,” Canales explained. “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.”
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The team said his condition kept him from flying to Houston to even be with the team for their game with the Houston Texans today.
“Rookie pass rusher Nic Scourton could miss some time, after an injury in Thursday’s joint practice was more serious than initially realized,” the team said in a statement. “Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Saturday that Scourton suffered a collapsed lung.
“The injury presented as heat exhaustion at first, but Scourton was taken to the hospital for treatment. He wasn’t even at NRG Stadium with the team Saturday, as his condition kept him from flying. Instead, he was driven back to Charlotte with team staffers and family members, arriving back home around kickoff.”
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Reaction
NFL fans, not just Panthers fans, took to X and offered their thoughts and prayers to Scourton as he recovers from the awful-sounding injury:
“Oh no this is bad! Prayers up for this young man,” one user replied on X.
“Damn man. Prayers up for big Nic!” wrote another.
“Prayers going up for Nic. Hope he is ok,” a third wrote.
“This sucks man Hoping the best for Nic Scourton in his recovery and obviously hope he is okay as a human being This is by far the worst part of football.”
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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 11: A detailed view of a Carolina Panthers helmet during pregame against the San Diego Chargers at Bank of America Stadium on December 11, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Big hopes for the rookie
As the 51st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Scourton is expected to be a contributor to the team this year, if not as a starter then as a consistent rotational player. His production at Purdue and Texas A&M over his three college football seasons certainly suggests that he can/
In 37 games, Scourton had 109 combined tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 17.0 sacks, five passes defended and three forced fumbles. He earned All-Big Ten honors in 2023 and All-SEC honors in 2024.
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But his health is more important than his playing career right now. We all hope that Scourton makes a full, speedy recovery from his collapsed lung.
Fans Are Heartbroken For NFL Rookie After ‘Horrifying’ Injury first appeared on The Spun on Aug 16, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.