Seltzer

I had stopped using my Hotmail account for years- last year I tried to login and to get into the account I had to authenticate from a code for a phone number I no longer have. So, I couldnt access. Nothing really of value except some old picture files from college. I assume at some point Microsoft will stop supporting Hotmail accounts altogether.

A good QB can mitif

It is a weird situation. They are refusing to pay Hendrickson, but their asking price is obviously high enough they know other teams won't meet it. They obviously want to be in this holding pattern. I think this definitely plays into the regular season. The Bengals are betting Hendrickson will cave at some point to their offer. Hendrickson will probably have to sit out until the trade deadline if he really wants to force their hand. And at that point, I'm doubtful the Panthers would be interested. Next year according to everyone that covers the team is going to be the year they out their chips coming to the middle. I think if Hendrickson were going to happen here, it already would have happened.

Also, the more Oline injuries around the league makes me think the Panthers are both fielding calls about potential trades, and I also think this increases the chance the Panthers keep a 10th offensive linemen. Could be a trade piece. Regardless, Oline depth around the league is abysmal, and this is hopefully going to be a strength for this team. Personally, I would be ecstatic if we could trade our 10th Olinemen for ILB or S depth

It will be interesting to see how playing time is split tomorrow night. Bartholomew has been running with Thornton & the 2nd unit. Evans has been with the 3s. But, he does have significantly more starting & playing experience. I also think Mike Reid could make the 53 (or a waiver claim) as the backup nickel behind Chau Smith-Wade since most of the CBs project more as outside CBs. IMO, Jaycee, Mike Jack, CSW, & Thornton are locks. The final spot(s) will be interesting. I think there is also a decent possibility we bring in a veteran CB after Week 1 (salary not guaranteed).

They lost Will Clapp (one of their top reserve Olinemen for the year). I think one of their starters might miss Week 1. Tristan Wirfs is going to miss a few games for the Bucs to start the season. We need a fast start, and hopefully good luck on the injury front after several years with bad luck.

They very well may do that, especially since James Mitchell has looked so good in camp.

He was TE3 the last couple of seasons in Detroit in a good TE room. I dont think there's any chance they cut Tremble. I guess it comes down to how many 2 TE sets Canales wants to run and if they think they need 4. I think Mitchell has flashed more than anyone else besides JT Sanders during TC.

I don't think they will want to expose him to waivers, and I think he will make the 53. But, to start the season with everyone healthy, I think he will be inactive Week 1 (one of the 7). I think it will take a trade or injury for him to see much playing time this year.

I do miss that section

By all indications, the surgery was "minor." I know with all surgeries and especially back surgery there can be complications, but I think the whole time Tremble did this with the expectation he would be able to be back for Week 1 It sounds like he will be ready to start back in team drills next week. He's a veteran who knows the system so I'm sure that helps. I still can't imagine he will play a normal workload early on though

Maybe. He was pretty good in college before a bad injury. He had a good preseason last year as a UDFA in Washington and was on their practice squad all year so they obviously saw something worth developing. He signed a futures deal with the Panthers earlier this year, and everything about him has been increasingly positive. Tremayne has gotten a decent amount of time with the ones, and a lot with the twos for someone that doesn't have a chance. He's the only other 6'4" plus WR on the team, plays ST, and is a more natural backup to the X receiver position than David Moore. That was my thinking behind it. But he may well end up as one of the last roster cuts. If so, I do hope they can bring him back to the PS. But I personally think there's a good chance he could be claimed given his ST ability and what hes shown at WR.

That was my thought originally, but so many of the beat writers have mentioned keeping 7 WRs in conversations that I went with that, at least for the purposes of this projection. But you're right that historically defensive guys who were standouts at ST have tradionally gotten those last spots

We need all the pass rush help we can get. We riot on Mint Street if they keep DJ Johnson over Incoom

Tremayne would have to clear waivers. Moore wouldn't which is why I think the team could go this way. We could resign David Moore to the PS with no fear of anyone claiming him. Tremayne has showed enough I think there's a legit chance someone could claim him. But, I'm not certain we keep 7 WRs. I think the first 6 are locks: (T-Mac, XL, Theilen, Coker, Renfrow, Horn)

A lot can change over the next week, but here is my best 53-man roster (note: I'm just basing this on guys on the 90 man roster currently). Obviously there could be trades/ waiver claims/ FA signings. Offense (25) QB (2): Bryce Young, Andy Dalton RB (3): Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne TE (4): Tommy Tremble, JT Sanders, Mitchell Evans, James Mitchell WR (7): Tetoria McMillan, Xavier Legette, Adam Theilen, Jalen Coker, Hunter Renfrow, Jimmy Horn, Brycen Tremayne OL (9): Ikem Ekwonu, Damien Lewis, Austin Corbett, Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton, Cade Mays, Chandler Zavala, Brady Christensen, Yosh Nijman Defense (25) DL (6): Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown, Ashawn Robinson, Tershawn Wharton, Sam Roberts, Cam Jackson OLB (5): DJ Wonnum, Pat Jones, Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, Thomas Incoom ILB (5): Trevin Wallace, Christian Rozeboom, Krys Barnes, Jon Rattigen, Claudin Cherelus S (4): Trevon Moehrig, Demani Richardson, Lathan Ransom, Nick Scott CB (5): Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Chau Smith-Wade, Corey Thornton, Shemar Bartholomew ST (3): LS: JJ Jansen P: Sam Martin K: Matthew Wright Would like to hear everyone's thoughts

I didnt like the Beason pick or the Kuechly pick at the time. Thought we had other more pressing needs. Certainly would like to have an ILB of that caliber on this team, though. It's definitely ironic that in a year where we maybe have the deepest WR room in franchise history, we probably have the weakest inside LBs, a position historically we've been strong at.

Get Jack Plummer off my team

We absolutely should try to trade for Hendrickson. We have plenty of cap, and I can't imagine the deal will be longer than 3 years. We're saving a ton on QB and most of the skill positions. Invest in the lines. Pass rush is definitely the biggest concern on this defense right now. The normal goofs who secretly root for this team to be bad are against it, but anybody who actually supports this team and wants to win knows this would be a great move.

Thank you for stating reality. It doesn't always mean anything in here.

I'm perplexed by the whole situation with Evero. Dude came in here touted as the next big thing, future head coach, etc. And in 2023, I think Evero was decent all things considered. He still had a lot of old "4-3 parts". I think he also got a lot of credit in 2023 from Tepper for at least holding his side of the ball together while the offense was a cluster fug mostly from beginning to end. I'm surprised all that goodwill didnt get thrown out the window last year, though. It's true we didn't invest that much in the defense coming into the season and we had some devastating injuries, but he could never adjust the defense to even give us a chance. A lot of other teams also had a lot of defensive injuries. We were the only one to be historically bad. It's just shocking Tepper didnt force Morgan to fire him after that bad of a performance, regardless of context. It's not like he hasn't been willing to burn bridges with franchise greats. Look at Cam Newton, the franchise's greatest QB. Still hasn't completely mended that fence. Look at Frank Reich, the franchise's first QB. He went from having one of the greatest fan fares at his introduction to being unceremoniously fired after only 11 games. Tepper has been heartless. It's why this with Evero remains a mystery.

He was on the list of players not playing. Not sure why. He had a hip issue but I think he practiced on Thursday. lol maybe he's already got his roster spot locked up since he's Evero's pet project. Seriously though, we need all the pass rush help we can get. DJ Johnson ain't it. Was a bad draft pick from day 1 for where we drafted him at. He was a 6th/7th rounder because he was a project in every sense of the word. 5th at best since he does have insane size & athleticism. Think about it, we basically drafted him in the same range as Princely Umanmielen, a guy who had double-digit sacks 3 consecutive years against SEC talent. He mostly played TE at Oregon before converting to OLB. He had some highlight sack plays against inferior Pac 12 OTs and a great combine. I guess they thought they could mold him into something special. He really has turned into a decent run stopper and special teamer, but we need some more pass rush juice on this team in the worst way. I think Thomas Inccom has shown much more as a pass rusher and is also a good ST player. I think he gets the 5th OLB spot. He flashed some here last season too. I have no problem with bringing DJ Johnson back on the practice squad, but unless something unexpected happens, I think this is his last season here.

The Panthers offensive starters looked good for the ~40 snaps they got against the Texans starters on Thursday. They looked bad for the 6 they got tonight. I think the biggest overreactions on here are the ones who act like the 6 tonight portend something awful while acting like 40 on Thursday mean nothing. In reality, neither will matter much in 3 weeks. Its about how we perform then. And IMHO, the concerns about the offense are overblown big time. This is the best offensive personnel we've had since 2021. I firmly believe that. Too much talent to not be good unless the Oline suffers too many injuries or Bryce regresses. I dont think either happens. Far too many of y'all either didnt watch the 2nd half of last year or have forgotten. Bryce was balling at the end of last year. He's been balling all camp. Its OK to have some confidence in Bryce. CJ Stroud & Tetoria McMillan both believe hes one of the best QBs they've ever seen. But what do they know?? As for the defense, yeah I get the concerns... we better hope Derrick Brown & Jaycee Horn stay healthy, especially DB. We still have plenty of cap space. Between that and roster cuts, I hope Dan Morgan is still active trying to improve the defensive depth. These 2 preseason games havent been promising. I thought the biggest issue with the ILBs last year was the awful Dline. And maybe it was. But they are definitely bad in their own accord. That and/or Evero's scheme doesn't do them any favors. It's ironic in a year where we may have the deepest WR room in franchise history, where we've historically have been weak, this is probably the weakest ILB we've ever had, where we've had greats like Sam Mills, Jon Beason, Luke Kuechly, and Thomas Davis. I did want to mention one undeniable positive story on the defense though. Corey Thornton is a beast. Hell of a find. Glad we look to have another CB who can play bump-and-run man bc i feel like Evero is going to have to dial up blitzes for pressure yet again. And here's another thing. Our offense has been kicking ass in camp. If they weren't, I'd be more concerned about the limited reps in the preseason games. But, our pass rush has been bad in camp since the pads came on, it's wasnt great in joint practices, and it hasn't been good in the games. That's enough data points to be concerned IMO, preseason or not. I hope Nic Scourton is back Week 1- it seems he will be. We may need him to play a big role in this defense from the jump. The run defense has been better, and it should be given the investment, although the guys who probably wont be here in 2 weeks didnt do good at all tonight stopping the run. If I never see another down of Shy Tuttle miscast as a NT in this debacle of a scheme, it wont be too soon. Hell, you guys want something to actually worry about that I think is grounded in hard data and reality... why is Evero still here?? Its one of the worst things about Tepper... getting rid of people but keeping guys from the old regimes around... I dont get it... and there was no real justification for keeping Evero last year other than they thought he wasnt given a fair shake. I know Evero was touted as a good coach, but he has been objectively awful here. And he's gotten worse over time. He was better in 2024 when we still had 4-3 misfits and spare parts. And say what you will about the (lack of) talent, this defense can't get pressure and can't tackle no matter who is out there. It's Year 3... he's had plenty of time to bring his guys in and draft the guys he wants, and will still suck. It is the scheme... first and foremost. I hope Canales has a contingency plan at DC. Anyway, I'm mostly positive for this year. I genuinely think the offense once it gets rolling is going to be good. And it will probably have to be to overcome this defense. Please stay healthy Derrick Brown!

A man who is somehow simultaneously glass-half full and glass half-empty lol. I'll cheers to that... Maybe you have found the secret zen of being a long-suffering Panthers fan!

Im not on the field so I have no frame of reference except for what I see and read, but every single NFL coach I've heard says joint practices provide the very best reps for evaluation they can get for a QB in the preseason. I mean, every single team does joint practices, and probably at least half dont even play their guys in preseason. That alone speaks volume about what coaches (who's jobs are on the line), actually value. I mean JJ MCCarthy missed his entire rookie season, and yet the Vikings staff feels like joint practices are going to prepare him for the regular season, even after a year off completely from football. And no, the QBs are getting taken to the ground in joint practices, but it is full speed. Guys are able to get live reps against other starters in real game environments, and in a much more structured & in-depth way, than the arbitrary nature of games. I think you are underselling the intensity & quality of these joint practices. Coaches wouldn't rave about them across the board if they weren't valuable. I know its not the exact same, but I think coaches would rather have 40 reps at full game speed but no tackling with a much lower injury risk than 20 reps at full speed & tackling with a much higher injury risk. I understand your point about not getting hit and the psychological effect, but these QBs have been hit their whole lives. I think its more about playing at game speed and getting the timing down with receivers, which joint practice allows. In the end, we're all trying to extract value out of the really limited data we're able to see as fans. It's undeniably frustrating regardless of the context to watch a shitty game like that. And its 3 weeks until we really get to see what this team will be like. So until then, we have to trust the coaches to make the right calls, and I understand why anyone could or would be skeptical of that given how things have went for a long time now.