Three questions for Panthers camp
My quick questions heading into Carolina Panthers training camp. Plus, some thoughts on the Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte 49ers and the rebranding of ESPN 730 The Game.
Greetings, my excellent friends.
Training camp week is here, so I figured it might be a good time to post something. After all, I haven’t wrote much of anything since April.
This camp has an odd feel to it since practices are closed to fans due to construction. Despite that, there’s some optimism surrounding this team for the first time in roughly a decade.
Rookies reported on Monday and they’re all under contract after Nic Scourton agreed to a deal on Saturday.
We’ll see what Dave Canales and Dan Morgan say to the media scrum this week. Here are some questions on my mind as it pertains to training camp and the season at large.
Will the starters play more snaps in preseason?
You may recall the horrendous start to the Panthers 2024 season. The starters played exactly one series in the last game of the preseason against Buffalo’s backups.
It was an interesting strategy given how terrible the Panthers were in 2023. Every game matters in the NFL and slow starts can have dire consequences.
Sensible people are not going to ask Canales to play his starters three quarters each preseason game but we’ll see if he adjusts his strategy based on how things unfolded last year.
Will there be any additional roster moves this week?
The Panthers spent a lot of money on the defensive side of the ball in March, but safety remains a question mark despite the signing of Tre’von Moehrig and drafting of Lathan Ransom.
Tight end is also a question with Tommy Tremble starting on the PUP list due to his back surgery. Veteran Noah Fant was released by the Seahawks on Sunday. Canales has familiarity with Fant but that doesn’t mean the Panthers will kick the tires on him.
Can Bryce Young complete a full season of solid play?
It would be tough to script a worse scenario than what played out for Bryce Young in the first two games of the 2024 season. He played awful, had terrible body language and his career seemed to be in the balance.
However, Young bounced back from that benching and provided glimpses of hope that he was the guy the Panthers traded up for in 2023. Young’s play when he returned from his Week 2 benching had to provide a massive sense of relief to every person within the organization.
Young still has to prove that he can perform at a high level over a full season. He only has one 300 yard passing game under his belt and that came on Christmas Eve against the Packers in the disastrous 2023 campaign.
While optimism is higher than it has been, putting together a full season of solid play will go a long way to laying doubts to rest.
QUICK SLANTS
Break up the Charlotte Hornets, your 2025 NBA Summer League champions! Next step, hopefully making - and winning - an actual playoff series!
The Charlotte 49ers football team will take the field soon for practice. The program as a whole let a golden opportunity slip away to get the city behind them with how the Panthers and Hornets have floundered since 2018. Will Mike Hill’s third football coaching hire in Tim Albin be the charm the program needs? I don’t have any predictions on how Albin’s era will go. If he can somehow start 2-0 though, I think the program will have some people in this city hop on the 49ers bandwagon.
It was disappointing to see ESPN Charlotte 730 The Game rebrand to a sports betting network. Having more options talking about local sports is a good thing and losing it hurts. There’s enough gambling content out there that a rebrand wasn’t needed in my opinion.
Football is almost here. Bring it on.