Patience is the name of the game for Panthers fans this year. While there are some exceptional young talents on the roster, the team is at the beginning of a rebuilding period and it’s going to take time for them to become competitive again.
As is appropriate, the team has been consistently ranked near the bottom of most power rankings all offseason. The latest batch from Touchdown Wire has Carolina placed at No. 28. Only Cincinnati, Washington, the Jets and the Jaguars were ranked lower. Here’s what Doug Farrar had to say about these Panthers going into the summer.
“Change has come to the Panthers, as both the quarterback and head coach that captained the team since 2011 — Cam Newton and Ron Rivera — were both cashiered. Now, it’s up to Teddy Bridgewater and Matt Rhule to bring the franchise back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Bridgewater is capable of doing that when he’s healthy, and Christian McCaffrey may be the most valuable running back in the NFL. First-round defensive tackle Derrick Brown will help what was the league’s worst run defense last season, but the Panthers are not quite where they need to be overall to compete in what will be a brutally competitive NFC South just yet.”
Adding more talent at a few positions of need could help. Realistically, there’s not much left they can do, though. According to Over the Cap, the team has just $11,113,926 of salary cap space left for the year.
After signing former Giants and Saints cornerback Eli Apple, the defensive personnel is probably set for the year. Phil Snow will have no choice but to rely heavily on unproven players.
On offense, the weakest spots are the offensive line and tight end.
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