Tag: Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Thomas Brown: Ihmir Smith-Marsette is more than just a gadget player

Panthers OC Thomas Brown isn’t pigeonholing WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette as a gadget player.

The last three games of this 2023 season will give the Carolina Panthers a chance to figure out what they have moving forward. And according to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, they have more than just a gadget in wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Smith-Marsette stood out in this past Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons. In addition to holding down punt return duties relatively well in the wet and windy conditions, the third-year receiver provided a little extra work on offense.

Brown was asked about the 24-year-old’s increased role.

“I think him being able to kinda earn his right—from what he’s done from a special teams standpoint, but obviously every day when it comes to him competing as you’ve mentioned from a speed standpoint—but I think more importantly, he’s one of the guys we have on our offense that can make guys miss,” he said. “And so when it comes to creating plays for yourself, things aren’t 100 percent perfect—he can maneuver himself, make guys miss, set up plays and obviously bring the energy and spark to our entire offense.”

The 9-7 victory saw Brown get creative with the speedy ball carrier, most notably through the running game. Smith-Marsette recorded 31 rushing yards on four attempts.

But Brown later stressed that Smith-Marsette is more than just a one-trick pony.

“Yeah, I don’t see him as a gadget player,” he replied. “I think it’s more about trying to find a role within the guys we already have on the field—to spell some guys, but also give a chance to kinda get the ball in his hands. He had a couple opportunities from a pass game standpoint to run some routes. In the end, they kinda didn’t work out in that game. But I see him as an overall player—not just a gadget, special teams guy for us.”

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Will Ihmir Smith-Marsette continue to have an expanded role on offense?

Panthers interim HC Chris Tabor spoke about WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s expanding role on offense.

The Carolina Panthers may have themselves a new full-time gadget.

A good amount of time this past summer was spent on finding a sweet spot for wideout Laviska Shenault Jr., who possesses the tools to be a two-fold threat on offense. But after an injury-plagued season phased him out of their plans, the Panthers may have found a similar type of spark in fellow receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Smith-Marsette provided some spice for Carolina in their 9-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Aside from his usual work on special teams, he squeezed in four rushing attempts for a total of 31 yards.

On Monday, interim head coach Chris Tabor was asked what Smith-Marsette meant to the team in their second victory of the campaign.

“I think he’s a player that kinda keeps growin’,” he said. “His role is beginning to expand on offense, which I’m excited to see. I just think whatever opportunity he gets, he’ll take advantage of. And that’s kinda where he’s at right now.

“He’s doin’ a nice job with regards to making good decisions in the punt return game. We got him on some jet sweeps—and then the motion and then throwin’ it out to him out there kinda turned into a punt return play for him. And I thought the offense did a good job of utilizing his skill set.”

Whether it was under the play-calling of former head coach Frank Reich or offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the Panthers offense has proven to be a tad stale throughout this rough campaign. Heck, they’re still without a touchdown over their last eight quarters.

But perhaps these last three weeks will give them, and Smith-Marsette, a chance to experiment.

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Top takeaways from Panthers’ snap counts in Week 15 win over Falcons

Do the Panthers have an effective gadget in Ihmir Smith-Marsette?

Sunday’s suboptimal conditions certainly factored in to how the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons played out their Week 15 matchup. The unrelenting rain and the wind forced both teams to go outside of their normal approaches to accommodate the presence of Mother Nature.

So, while the snap counts from Carolina’s 9-7 victory are quite interesting, we may have to take away these takeaways with a grain of salt . . .

Studs and duds from Panthers’ Week 10 loss to Bears

Some of the same culprits proved to be duds for the Panthers in their latest loss of the season.

We’re guessing you can probably figure out where this week’s studs and duds for the Carolina Panthers are coming from.

Here’s who stood out for the right reasons and wrong reasons throughout Thursday night’s 16-13 loss to the Chicago Bears:

Twitter reacts to Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s electric 79-yard punt return TD

Panthers WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette lit up the Bears (and Twitter) with a 79-yard punt return for a TD on Thursday night.

Never mind tonight’s hype behind DJ Moore or even D’Onta Foreman. We have another revenge game brewing!

The first blood drawn in Thursday’s prime-time matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears came courtesy of wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The former Bear, at around the six-minute mark of the first quarter, took back a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Take a look:

Smith-Marsette’s house call, which probably came as no surprise to him, is the first for the franchise since 2017.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the electric runback:

Panthers get punt return TD from former Bear Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Ihmir Smith-Marsette burned his former team, the Bears, for a punt return TD

Ihmir Smith-Marsette spent a little time — about six weeks — with the Chicago Bears in 2022.

He showed them what they lost on Thursday night as a Carolina Panther.

Smith-Marsette collected a punt at the Carolina 21-yard line and returned it up the middle through the Bears’ special teamers.

The final move was put on Chicago punter Trenton Gill, who was no match for the Panthers’ punt returner.

After the 79-yard punt return and PAT, Carolina led the homestanding Bears, 7-0.

4 Panthers WRs pop up on Wednesday’s Week 1 injury report

The Panthers listed six players on Wednesday’s injury report. Four of them are wide receivers.

The first official injury report of the 2023 season may be painting a potentially troubling picture for the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.

Six players were listed on Wednesday’s release, with four coming from the wideout position. The receivers noted include DJ Chark, Adam Thielen, Terrace Marshall Jr. and the recently-acquired Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Here’s the report in its entirety:

Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
WR DJ Chark Hamstring DNP
DE DeShawn Williams Illness DNP
S Sam Franklin Jr. Knee Limited
WR Terrace Marshall Jr. Back Limited
WR Adam Thielen Ankle Limited
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette Ankle Full

The most concerning of the bunch is, obviously, Chark—who sustained his hamstring injury back on Aug. 22. Despite the setback, however, the 26-year-old seemed optimistic about his opening day status last week.

Chark has been bitten by the injury bug quite a few times over the course of his previous five NFL campaigns. He, most recently, missed six games for the Detroit Lions in 2022 due to an ankle injury—one he underwent surgery on this offseason.

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Ihmir Smith-Marsette boldly speaks on his return skills

New Panthers WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: I’ma show that any time the ball touches my hands, it’s possible that it’s gonna go to the house

Maybe Frank Reich wasn’t kidding about Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s “good energy.”

The 24-year-old receiver joined the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, a day after he was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. When asked about what fans should expect of him, Smith-Marsette (in a clip courtesy of FOX Sports Radio reporter Sheena Quick) boldly stated the following:

“I’m the type of person that say ‘when’,” he said of getting the chance to return kicks. “So when that happens, when I get the opportunity to be the returner, I’ma show that any time the ball touches my hands, it’s possible that it’s gonna go to the house.

“That’s my mentality. I’m just gonna attack every time.”

Well, he certainly attacked this summer. Smith-Marsette recorded 195 receiving yards this preseason (second-most in the league) while taking it to the house twice.

He was quite acquainted with that house through the return game as well. During his four years at the University of Iowa, the 2018 Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year fielded a total of 53 kickoffs for 1,520 yards (28.7 yards per return) and two scores.

So, we just have to wait for when (not if) his opportunity comes.

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Frank Reich: Adam Thielen helped Panthers’ acquisition of Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Frank Reich revealed the Panthers got a little inside info on Ihmir Smith-Marsette from his former Vikings teammate Adam Thielen.

Before taking questions on Tuesday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich told reporters that he’d hold off on commenting about today’s tsunami of moves. That, however, didn’t prevent him from giving out a tiny bit of useful information on their newest acquisition.

Reich was willing to speak about wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, whom the Panthers grabbed in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs early this morning. He said the 24-year-old can bring a lot to the table.

“He’s a really good route runner,” Reich stated. “Very good hands. Know he’s a smart guy. If you’re on our roster, you need to be able to play all three positions ’cause we move guys around a lot.

“Had a good preseason, a productive preseason. He can catch punts. So, he could factor in there could not factor in there. We’ll see how it all plays out.”

The speedy Smith-Marsette shined during exhibition play, reeling in nine balls for 195 yards (the second-most in the NFL this preseason) and two touchdowns. He can bring value as a vertical threat, an underneath option and a returner.

Reich then revealed that he and the braintrust had a little help from a certain veteran before making the move.

“He had some inside info because he was in Minnesota with Adam Thielen,” he added. “So, was able to call Adam and say, ‘Adam, tell me about this guy.’ So, got inside information from another player. That always is helpful.”

Smith-Marsette was a fifth-round draft pick of the Vikings back in 2021. Although he didn’t last into the regular season there, he did spend an entire summer with Thielen—who, apparently, gave a good review of the new guy.

“You guys will see—very good personality,” Reich said of what Thielen told him of Smith-Marsette. “Apparently, he’s got a pretty exuberant personality . . . which is good. We like that energy. He has good energy is what they say.”

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Former Iowa WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette traded to Carolina Panthers

The former Hawkeye and Kansas City Chief is on the move and has his new home. Ihmir Smith-Marsette has been traded to the Carolina Panthers.

Former Iowa Hawkeye Ihmir Smith-Marsette has found a new home. It was announced on Tuesday that the Carolina Panthers would be trading for the former Hawkeye receiver. Ian Rappaport reported early Tuesday morning that the Panthers would be swapping conditional 2025 seventh-round picks for Smith-Marsette.

Carolina marks the fourth spot for the former 2021 fifth-round NFL draft pick. Smith-Marsette signed with the Chiefs early into last season, spending most of the year on the practice squad. He would be promoted to the active roster ahead of the playoffs, winning a Super Bowl with Kansas City.

The trade occurs after a strong preseason showing for Smith-Marsette. He finished the preseason with nine catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He faced stiff competition to make the Kansas City roster, battling against multiple high draft picks at wide receiver.

The Newark, N.J., native hopes to make a Panthers wide receiver group that’s currently banged up with multiple injuries. Anyone familiar with Carolina’s roster knows that they desperately could use an influx of speed at the position.

Throughout the preseason, their wide receiver room has looked slow and struggled to separate. An athletic playmaker like Smith-Marsette could be a nice weapon off the bench for rookie quarterback Bryce Young.

Smith-Marsette can also provide competition to Raheem Blackshear at kick returner. He was a prolific return man at Iowa City, winning the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year award in 2018.

During his Iowa Hawkeyes career, Smith-Marsette registered 110 receptions for 1,615 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in 44 games played and across 20 starts. Smith-Marsette also tallied 1,520 kick return yards during his Iowa career.

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