On Aug. 8, Marquan McCall was officially listed as the starting nose tackle in the Carolina Panthers’ initial depth chart. And now, two weeks later, he’s not even on the roster.
Why?
On Monday, perhaps less than 60 seconds from when McCall was waived, head coach Frank Reich explained the surprising move.
“It really comes down to fit, with a certain scheme and style we’re lookin’ for, and then some of the young guys that we brought in have really risen to the challenge,” he told reporters. “So it’s been very competitive, right?
“This time of the year, as you guys know—like this next week, for us coaches, this is as tough as it gets. You feel like literally—legitimately, I feel like very guy on our 90-man roster, I feel like every one of these players is good enough to make a 53-man roster.”
Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer then asked Reich to quantify the parting of ways with McCall, who seemed to be the prototypical nose tackle at 6-foot-3 and almost 380 pounds.
“It’s in multiple ways,” he said. “I don’t wanna really—it’s a very fair question, ’cause you’re right. Just body type and other ways you think he is the traditional 3-4. And that’s why I think he’s gonna be on a roster.
“I think for us in our scheme, there’s more nuances to it than the traditional thing. So, I’ll just leave it at that.”
That scheme, as Reich alluded to, has seen a few dark horses gallop to the forefront of late. The most notable of the bunch has been Raequan Williams, who initially joined the Panthers as a practice squad member in October of 2022.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has made quite an impression during the summer. And his little breakout, perhaps, culminated in this past Friday’s preseason outing against the New York Giants—where he recorded a sack, a quarterback hit and three stops.
So, look for Williams to claim that vacated area in the middle rather soon.
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