After a rough preseason showing, the Panthers mailbag turned quickly to the questions fans always ask when the temperature rises: Bryce Young, roster math, and which young players still have room to force their way into the picture.
On Young, the message was simple. One preseason game doesn’t move the needle much.
The starter discussion, at least for now, is settled. Barring injury or a severe regression, Young is still the guy, and there’s no reason to start talking about a new contract yet.
The team has already made clear that decision won’t come until next offseason, and possibly later, since he’s still on the 5th year option next season. The real focus is consistency.
Young has already shown both high-level play and “absolute dog water play,” and that up-and-down stretch is what still needs to smooth out.
That same patience carried over to the rest of the quarterback room. Haynes King’s preseason performance has made the final roster conversation more interesting, but the answer still leaned toward the Panthers keeping three quarterbacks.
There’s a path where King gets cut and the team hopes to stash him on the practice squad, but after that Hall of Fame game showing, carrying three QBs and trying to hide another depth piece elsewhere feels more likely. Kenny Pickett doesn’t sound like a player the team wants to move on from, even if that possibility isn’t completely off the table.
The defense got its own spotlight, too, and Ejiro Evero was not framed as a coach on the hot seat. The case for him is pretty straightforward: he got a middle-of-the-pack defense out of a group that had basically no solid inside linebackers and almost no pass rush.
If the defense gets worse with the added pieces from the offseason, then sure, that changes the conversation. But right now, Evero doesn’t sound like a real issue.
Among the players with the most to gain in the rest of preseason, Princely Umanmielen stood out first. He looks positioned for an important role as a designated pass rusher now that he’s essentially the third edge on the roster, and the big question is whether his offseason work shows up on the field.
The young defensive backs are also worth watching closely: Will Lee and Corey Thornton at corner, plus Lathan Ransom and Zakee Wheatley at safety, all have chances to improve their standing. On offense, Jonathon Brooks is another name to track.
He needs a fair shot to run the ball instead of getting swallowed up right away, and there’s clear interest in seeing him break off a long run and show he’s back.
Pat Jones is another player who drew a confident read. Before last season’s injury, he was viewed as a relentless quarterback hunter, and he’s expected to have a big role as the run-setting edge rusher. If he stays healthy, he could be one of the better comeback stories on the roster, especially with solid pieces around him to help carry the load.
Roster crunches remain a major theme, and Chandler Zavala was mentioned as a possible cut candidate. He doesn’t have any obvious ties to this coaching staff, and his preseason has been split between one good game and one awful one. Cutting him wouldn’t be a shock, though the Panthers could still value the depth if they believe in him.
Wide receiver is where the numbers get especially tight. With Chris Brazzell not yet ruled out for season-ending IR, the room could get crowded fast.
By one count, as many as eight receivers could have a case for the final roster. If the Panthers keep seven, Xavier Legette, John Metchie, David Moore, and Jimmy Horn Jr. end up battling for those spots.
The lean was that the team would move on from Metchie, Moore, or Horn before parting with Legette, and a trade doesn’t seem likely right now.
Special teams also got its due. Jimmy Horn Jr. or Trevor Etienne appear to be the leading return options, while Ja’Seem Reed could work his way onto the roster because of what he offers as a returner. Brycen Tremayne looks like a roster lock because of his special teams work, and Jackson Kuwatch was named as another player who could make it if he handles special teams responsibilities well.
In Other News...
Panthers Face A Risky Haynes King Decision They Could Regret
As the Panthers move through their roster cuts, Haynes King has become one of those preseason names that can linger because of what he might eventually offer rather than what he has already shown. He has only appeared in the Hall of Fame Game so far, and his injury recovery has kept him from building much of a rsum in camp, but the appeal is obvious enough: a quarterback with enough versatility to be used in different offensive looks and enough short-yardage value to matter in a tight game.
That makes his spot a tricky one to judge, because the Panthers are weighing immediate roster math against the risk of letting a useful player get away before he has a chance to prove it. If they move on now, it would be easy to see how the decision could be revisited later if his development continues and another team is willing to bet on the same upside Carolina is trying to measure. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face A Risky QB Debate Behind Bryce Young
The Panthers continue to operate as if Bryce Young is the quarterback to build around, and that certainty shapes everything else in the room behind him. With the team still sorting out how to support Young, the temptation to chase another name has surfaced in the usual offseason way, with Carolina linked to possible quarterback trade chatter involving Mac Jones and J.J. McCarthy.
But the case against making a move is pretty straightforward: the Panthers already have bodies behind Young, including Haynes King and Kenny Pickett, and there is enough uncertainty around the starters long-term setup without adding another layer to it. For now, the smarter play looks like patience, keeping the current quarterback group intact until Carolina has a clearer reason to change course. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have One More Pass Rush Situation To Watch
The Panthers spent the offseason trying to give their pass rush a clearer shape, signing Jaelan Phillips to a four-year contract with the idea of pairing him with Nic Scourton. Instead, Scourtons torn ACL changed the picture before the regular season even arrived, leaving Carolina with another question mark in a spot that already needed reinforcement.
Josh Sweats name has entered the conversation as the kind of player who could fit what Carolina is looking for, especially with the Cardinals sitting on a veteran edge option. But Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort has already said there is no interest in moving him, which leaves the Panthers monitoring a situation that could matter to their defense without offering any easy answers yet. [Read more 🡒]