Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! I think all the fans are looking for answers following a 3 game skid, I’m here to try and give you those. Let’s dive in!
TXPanther: Which of these guys would be priority for designated to return from IR? Would you save any spots? They have used 2 designations so far which leaves 6 to be used.
Well, the Panthers answered that question this week by activating RB Jonathon Brooks, CB Mike Jackson, WR Xavier
Legette, and OL Brady Christensen (last week on that one). Those would have been my choices, and I expect one of the remaining spots is earmarked for Jaycee Horn unless they feel he cannot return. I have a feeling they’ll have used up all of their IR to return designations before the seasons end, sadly. Only one I’m not entirely sure about is Xavier Legette, but hopefully he comes out and shows us some of the promise that made him a first round pick.
@WTMealey: rank these in order of who you feel is too blame for losses or put another way what change would give the most results
Injuries
Evero
Lack of talent on the roster-feel free to point fingers
Canales
Bryce
Morgan
Tepper
I don’t really feel I can put it in a particular order, but I blame Ejiro Evero and Dave Canales mostly for the unpreparedness of the players and the lack of discipline on bone headed penalty plays. Obviously, injuries certainly play a role since the Panthers have been very snake bitten by them. I know Bryce Young hasn’t played in the out of his mind way he did to start the year every game, but I’m still not going to blame him for the majority of the Panthers losses.
storybook: Would you rather win the division at 8-9 again or have a better draft pick?
I’m still of the mindset that you should try to make the playoffs. This fan base really enjoyed the playoff game last season and that’s really the point of all of this right? Get into the dance, see what happens. I also trust this front office to make good decisions no matter where they are picking in the first round, so having a better draft pick doesn’t give me as much anxiety as it did in the past.
GooseCreek: The Panthers will have 25 free agents (13 offense/11 defense/1 special teams) at season’s end (3 ERFA* & 22 UFA** players). ERFA players (B. Tremayne, C. Bullock, & TeRah Edwards) are routinely tendered leaving 22 players (11 offensive/10 defensive/1 spec. teams) for resolution. I suspect the team allows J.J. Jansen (special teams) to decide his own fate (return?/retire?).
My question to you, Brian: Who makes your priority list in each of the following categories?
Three (3) Offensive players to retain? Three (3) Offensive players to let walk?
Three (3) Defensive players to retain? Three (3) Defensive players to let walk?
Any practice squad players you would seek to retain under a Futures contract?
*ERFA: Exclusive Rights Free Agents **UFA: Unrestricted Free Agents
- I think at this point you look to retain OT Ikem Ekwonu. Rasheed Walker isn’t the answer and you probably need to have Monroe Freeling playing one of the tackle spots since I suspect Taylor Moton won’t be around next season. I also think you retain TE Tommy Tremble if his contract demands are relatively reasonable, which they should be. Finally, I think you hold onto WR Brycen Tremayne, who has been very good for the Panthers when called upon and is excellent on special teams. You can probably let C Luke Fortner walk since he hasn’t been good and should be looking for a replacement. The rest of their free agents on offense are fairly retainable but not priorities in my opinion, Brady Christensen may change this answer depending on how he looks in action.
- I think you have to retain CB Mike Jackson, even despite his injury. The Panthers still need 3 starter level corners and they won’t have a need (when healthy) if they bring him back to pair with Horn and Will Lee III. I think you also have to retain LB Bobby Okereke after his performance as a guy they signed off roster cuts. And of course, you gotta retain the Ace That Runs The Place 2.0, Nick Scott. The rest of their list doesn’t feel like people I’d worry too much about if they walk.
- I’d say WR Ja’Seem Reed, CB Corey Thornton, and CB Marco Wilson. Beyond that I really have no idea on some of these guys.
SmoothC: What head coaching jobs will be available by season’s end?
My guess would be the Eagles, Ravens, Chargers, Buccaneers, and maybe the Cowboys. I hope not for Carolina, but time will tell.
Senanima: How long does Waller sip the youth giving Kool Aid?
Probably at least two more seasons. He’s a pretty specialized player and doesn’t have as much mileage for an NFL player at his age as you’d expect. Might make sense to bring him back again in 2027.
Highmiles: We all know injuries have killed us this year. The question is why are we more injury prone than most teams? Bad trainers and conditioning coaches? Poor draft selections? By this I mean trying to draft better players that drop in the draft due to injury history. Turf field?
I’ve never been a fan of the turf field regardless of what the NFL points to as “statistics” correlating to the injuries on turf vs grass. I’ve played on both and can tell you turf definitely seemed to feel like it did more damage. I don’t blame the coaches or staff for it, the Panthers just seem to have bad luck especially this season. And as far as draft selections go, you can really only point to Jonathon Brooks, and I still feel like his issues were mostly just bad luck. I think you can make an argument his first injury after entering the league MIGHT have been a coaching/staff oversight by playing him too fast, but they’ve given him more than enough rehab time since then. Sometimes injuries just happen and there are many players’ careers that fizzled out more due to bad luck than anything. I’m hoping he gets a chance to show off on his return stint this year.
positivebob: Was Morgan right to stand pat at the trade deadline or should he have moved a high value player, Derrick Brown? for draft capital? Or was he handcuffed by having less than 1 mil in cap space, until todays restructure of Moton’s contract? That still only freed up less than 4 mil.
I think this is a great question. The Panthers have been in a weird spot where they looked like they could (and still can) compete for a playoff spot, but their roster isn’t one where you can trade for a guy or two and make a run like other teams. The Panthers are also not actively rebuilding and have been in the “talent collection” stage if that makes sense. Letting Derrick Brown go is a move that basically signals the season is over, and wholesale changes are coming in the off-season. I think Dan Morgan was right to just stand pat, this team doesn’t need to be blown up again right now.
Slick22: How many activations from IR do we have left?
They appear to have 2 left following this week. 2 more if they somehow make the playoffs.
That’s all for this week, Panthers fans! Join us next week for another edition of the weekly mailbag!
