Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#8. Jordan Gross
A lot of people who know football will tell you that outside of quarterback, a franchise left tackle is the most important and hardest position to lock in on an offense. The Panthers had that all through the 200s and into the 2010s with Jordan Gross.
Gross’s early sports playing days are very typical of good offensive linemen. He’s from a rural state (Idaho), was a three sport athlete in high school, and was elite at all three sports. He was best at football, which earned him a scholarship to Utah, where he developed into an All American by his senior season. He built up enough of a resume to be selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft; he was the first offensive linemen off the board.
Gross immediately provided return on that investment by starting at right tackle out of the gate. He played every offensive snap in his rookie season and established himself as an above average tackle right away. He would alternate between right tackle and left tackle each season for the first six years of his career, and it wasn’t until his sixth year that he would miss a start. In that season, he starred an offensive line that helped the Panthers to a top 10 offense despite being almost entirely built around the run game. He earned Pro Bowl and All Pro honors for his work that season.
He would go on to earn two more Pro Bowl nominations while starting nearly every game for the Panthers over the next five seasons. He was as steady as could be throughout those years, even earning one of those Pro Bowl nominations in his final professional season in 2013.
In all, Gross played in 167 games across his 11 year career in Carolina, starting every one of them. He was above average at his worst and elite at his best. Having that at left tackle for over a decade is something every team dreams of. In some ways, the Panthers have been continually trying to replace Gross since his retirement over 12 years ago.
After his playing career came to a close, Gross stayed close to the organization, working as a sideline reporter for preseason games and hosting a Panthers-centric TV show with former teammate Travelle Wharton. He’s since returned home to coach football at his old high school and is now the offensive line coach at his alma mater.
Gross’s 167 starts are the most in franchise history, and he has earned himself a spot in the Panthers Hall of Honor. His longevity, ability, and closeness to the franchise also earn him a spot at number eight on the list of top 100 Panthers of all time.
