Welcome to part 2 of your CSR mailbag!
Hello Panthers fans! Welcome to Brian Answers, part 2 of your weekly CSR mailbag, a safe place for everyone!
The Panther got destroyed on Sunday, and figure to be looking at another buzzsaw against the division rival Atlanta Falcons this week. Unsurprisingly, many of you are looking towards the future, and the long term path of the Panthers, as evidenced by this week’s responses to our mail bag. To recap, Brian Asks is our place for you, the fans, to ask your questions early on in the week. This piece, Brian Answers, is where we answer all of your questions, whether they be Panthers related, football related, or even off topic! Let’s dive in!!
panthers2112: New training staff when?
I’m not sure of when, but this team has been killed by injuries for the last few seasons. I’m not sure the culprit, maybe we see how the Bucs fair this season, and then have David Tepper open the checkbook for 2025 to lure over guys Dave Canales has familiarity with. A real field would be nice too!
storybook: Is it delusional to compare this team to the 2021 Lions, who finished 3-13-1 in Dan Campbell’s first year?
Not delusional at all. Granted, the Panthers have spent the better part of the post Ron Rivera tenure trading away their good players, however, there is a semblance of a core to build around. Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn, Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu, Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, and other names that might fit the “debatable” tag. Every bad team that turns it around eventually builds on some core of players. Being entirely unsure of the QB situation doesn’t necessarily help with the optimism, but Dave Canales is clearly building some kind of culture here. It’s a testament to that when you look back at how the team responded to starting Andy Dalton. Getting a QB, and talent around him, is key. But establishing a culture is a great start when you’re building the foundation from the bedrock.
Back2Pack: How many times do you think we will cycle through these 2 qbs this year? Do you think we get to QB3?
I think at some point, Bryce Young will return to the starting lineup. But after that happens, I see no reason to go back to Dalton. Once you hit the point of starting Bryce again, I don’t think it makes any sense to bench him. Remember, moving on to Dalton was an attempt to salvage the season for the coaches. If he returns to playing at that early level, they may not bring Bryce back in at all. But if the negative trajectory continues, I think Bryce gets his chance to start again. QB3 would only happen if Bryce and Dalton get hurt, in my opinion.
TLGPanthersFan: 2001 we had a solid core, 2011 we had a solid core. 2024 we have no core at all.
Where is the hope?
As I touched on earlier, there is a semblance of a core here. Where I’m staking my hope is that the team acquired an extremely effective offensive line, one that was graded in the top of the league in efficiency prior to injuries derailing that. Rebuilding the offensive line was clearly their biggest goal and they accomplished that. My hope is that the next major priority gets fixed as quickly as that one did, and hopefully the injuries don’t mount in the way they have so far in 2024.
KeepPounding88: Will we win another game this year, and if so, which one(s)?
I’m assuming we’ll see the classic win vs one of the NFC South opponents they aren’t supposed to beat. And I’m calling my shot now, the Chiefs will remain undefeated (or close to it) until November 24th, and the Panthers, coming off their bye week, will finish what Teddy Bridgewater started in 2020, and knock them off their high horse. That’s two wins right there, Panthers fans!
Scorpion Races: Can the Panthers do anything to help alleviate the number of injuries this season?
No.
Revshawn: Jets just fired their head coach?
Yes.
Coach_K: Is Jaycee Horn still regarded as one of the best CB’s in the NFL? Proof in the pudding?
Per PFF, as of this week Jaycee Horn has been targeted 23 times, good for 34th in the league. That’s pretty good considering he’s played the large majority of the snaps this season on defense. Unfortunately, when teams don’t throw the ball at you, its not easy to make those game changing turnover forcing plays. He’s graded out above average in totality next to his peers, but he’s about the only impact player the Panthers have left on a really bad defense. Maybe not top 3, but I’m putting him in the top 8 right now.
Marsha Jackalone: Was the game against the Raiders a “Vegas game” to keep gamblers on their toes and to engage fans a bit longer in this dreadful season? This is presuming the NFL is rigged (which it is).
We can debate for days about the merit of the “NFL being rigged” argument, but on paper that was a really solid matchup for the Panthers. The Raiders are bad at running the football, they have a bridge QB at best under center, and you can probably name two of their starters on defense. The Panthers were relatively healthy, debuting a QB where there was only one game of film on him (and it was for the previous coaching staff), and the team was rejuvenated. I think it was more just an unpredictable scenario for a Raiders team who is very much in the same situation as the Panthers.
High miles: Morgan and Canales inherited a shell of a team with sub par QB that had just cost us a ton of draft capital. They were also saddled with the task of putting together enough offense to evaluate the wasted QB pick. The fact that they could even field a team shows they deserve a chance to see what they can do in the future. The question is, with no. Core to build on, and injury prone players, what is a realistic timeline to put together a competitive team?
I’ll answer this two-fold given two scenarios:
- Bryce Young sticks around and improves-I would say as little as one season, depending on what they do with the offensive personnel from this season. They’d need to go heavy on improving the defense, but if they somehow get out of this season having hope for Bryce with meaningful onfield improvement, it could be quicker than you’d think.
- They move on from Bryce-Two seasons at minimum, probably three if we’re being realistic. They would need to figure out the QB situation, add talent on defense, and probably replace some other veteran guys who won’t stick around while they search for their next franchise QB.
In either instance, the variance is greatly impacted by whether Dave Canales sticks around to implement his vision, or if David Tepper fires him and continues the head coaching carousel.
SwampPanther: *checks the date….* Sigh, so who would you pick with our 1st rounder Brian?
Travis Hunter. I know its a speculation play due to his two-way utilization in college, but the Panthers often find themselves needing depth at basically every position. This addresses both the needs at CB and WR, but also helps with their staggering inability to field more than one NFL caliber starter at every position.
DannyLimes: given the complete dearth of talent on defence, what do you think the panthers should do at the DC spot next year? Hope somebody with some remote talent in the 3-4 becomes available and is somehow interested, use the time for a hard reset and change in defensive scheme? I have a feeling Coach E is out of contract and I’m curious if you have any realistic names to throw into the ring as possible options?
- Ejiro Evero is under contract until 2026, so unless he gets fired or gets a head coaching gig, he’s here to stay. While Evero’s defense has been embarrassing in 2024, he’s done a lot better than I would have expected with the Panthers’ patchwork secondary. He doesn’t really have the talent on the front seven to make his defense work. I would give him one more year, but he may get let go due to how abysmal this season has been. I’d say Robert Saleh is an easy answer as he has prior connections to Dave Canales. Beyond that I’m picking out of a hat. Maybe Larry Foote? Current Pass Game Coordinator and Inside Linebackers coach for the Buccaneers, who would have worked with Canales in his one season in Tampa Bay.
panthersfan2018: If the fans want a quick turnaround, 2 things need to happen. The team will need to be loaded with BOTH draft capitals AND cap space. As of now, we have 9 picks in the next draft, hope GM Dan Morgan can evaluate and draft (and trade DOWN) wisely since he prefers build through draft. As for the cap space, I do not know how much we are going to have in the offseason, but based on what I read, we do not have a lot, which means there will be cap casualties when the time comes.
With that being said, the Panthers will have 40+ players enter free agency when the season ends. Which players do you think worth re-signing to long / short term deals? and who should be let walk so the team can start reload the cap space?
The Panthers currently have about $41 million in cap space going into 2025. They can drop a few players (per OTC) and get that up to over 60 mil rather fast.
Players I would look to re-sign are as follows:
- OL Brady Christensen-re-sign as your swing tackle and backup guard/center immediately, unless he can get starter money elsewhere. He’s currently a free agent in 2025.
- CB Jaycee Horn-sign to an extension. He’s the best corner they have, and an extension spreads out his $12m cap hit in 2025, as part of his 5th year option being picked out. Based on how those extensions usually work with a signing bonus, that adds about $10m to the cap space and retains one of the core guys we’ve talked about above.
Players I would cut:
- RB Miles Sanders-real easy one here, especially with Jonathan Brooks getting in a hopefully full healthy off-season.
- EDGE DJ Wonnum-unless he really shows something when he returns from the PUP list, that’s $7.5 mil off the books.
It will be an interesting off-season to navigate, to say the least.
KEEP POUNDING!