The Carolina Panthers haven’t had the simplest of times in trying to find a perfect spot for offensive lineman Brady Christensen. But Dave Canales, Christensen’s third head coach in his four-year NFL career, seems to be narrowing down a specific role for the 27-year-old hog molly—even despite his valuable versatility.
With the team’s offensive front having to shuffle around a bit this summer due to numerous injuries and absences, Christensen’s positional flexibility has come up quite clutch for Carolina. Canales spoke about that skill following Wednesday’s practice.
“Yeah, it’s a blessing for us,” Canales told reporters. “As different guys have kinda missed a little bit of time in different positions, to be able to see him—the flip-side of it is, what I would love is to just let Brady settle into a couple spots. Having the ability to play all five doesn’t mean you really necessarily should—because there’s reps, there’s time-on-task. So as we go forward, really honing in on our group and saying, ‘Ok, where does Brady help us most?'”
That wasn’t an easy question to answer for previous regimes, specifically the very first one Christensen walked into as a pro. Former head coach Matt Rhule, who called Christensen a “third-round tackle and a second-round guard” upon drafting him in 2021, played the Brigham Young University standout at four different spots (left tackle, left guard, right tackle and right guard) over a two-year span.
Last year, under then-head coach Frank Reich, Christensen was named the starting left guard. But he’d only record 54 regular-season snaps at the position before succumbing to a season-ending biceps injury.
So, where would Canales like to see him go?
“I’d really like to see him just like guard and tackle,” he responded. “And if he could, play on one side—’cause it changes when you start flipping sides.”
If the preseason is any indication, then the right side may be the right side—at least according to Canales. Christensen played 54 snaps in the summer opener against the New England Patriots, with 51 coming at right guard and three at right tackle.
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