The Panthers made a small roster move this week, promoting linebacker Tyrel Dodson from the practice squad after another team tried to poach him. At the same time, Carolina moved on from wide receiver Jimmy Horn, though head coach Dave Canales said he spoke with Horn and doesn’t want him to take the cut as a setback. Canales also said the team hopes to bring Horn back on the practice squad.
Owner Dave Tepper also stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in three years, and his message was clear: he trusts the people running the football operation now. Tepper said he feels more confident in general manager Dan Morgan, head coach Dave Canales and Brandt Tilis, and believes the team is in position to win now and in the future.
“Nothing is easy in the NFL. Seriously, it’s not.
I believe that we have everything here to win this year. And I believe we’ll have everything to win in the future, too,” Tepper said via The Athletic’s Joe Person.
“I do think we’re on the right track and I do think we have very good people here in Dan and Dave and Brandt (Tilis). So I think we have a good management team over on that side of the building.
I trust them. I don’t feel the need to be around as much here because I trust them so much.
And like I said, I’m optimistic. I’m realistic, though, OK?
But I’m optimistic.”
In New Orleans, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough opened up about the run-up to the Saints taking him in the second round, including a strange moment when a delayed flight kept him from meeting with team officials. He said the Saints had been direct with him about their intentions and made it clear they wanted him in the draft.
“I remember (the Saints scouts) trying to get me to come out in the draft,” Shough said, via Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com. “Specifically, the (Saints) scouts were like, ‘You need to come out.
We’re going to draft you. Or we’re going to sign you.’
And they stood by it.”
Shough said the flight situation felt like a test, and he handled it by taking responsibility rather than pointing fingers.
“I remember (Saints officials) asking me about the flight and trying to get me to see whose fault it was,” Shough added on the delayed flight. “It felt like a test.
I didn’t blame anybody. I didn’t blame the airline.
I just took the blame myself.”
He also said he thought Cleveland might take him, but once that possibility faded, New Orleans’ quiet approach told him what was coming. Other teams stayed in contact, while the Saints went silent, and Shough read that as a sign they were waiting for him to slide past the Browns’ two picks in the second round.
“Other teams were very communicative up until the draft, and with the Saints there was this kind of radio silence, like not wanting to necessarily give anything away,” Shough mentioned. “I think they were trying to keep it under wraps a little bit.
A little bit of gamesmanship. Once the Browns didn’t take a quarterback, I had a really good feeling I was going to come here, and we were elated.
It was kind of just like a culmination of that whole process. I know whenever I first got here, there was obviously a lot of talk about my history, playing in college a lot.
I’m sure some people weren’t fans of it, but I think for me it was a blessing to be here, because I knew that they believed in me and I believed in those guys.”
Atlanta’s injury picture remains unsettled, too. Falcons quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix were both ruled out for Week 1, though head coach Kevin Stefanski said the team is still not closing the door on anyone. Penix and Cooper Rush were both set to practice Wednesday, while Tagovailoa was not.
“We are working through it. Tua is not going to practice today but he is getting better. Mike and Cooper will practice,” Stefanski said.
The Falcons also have a big question around Bijan Robinson’s workload after he handled 21 carries and caught eight passes in the season opener. Stefanski said he isn’t sure whether Robinson will keep seeing that kind of volume, but Robinson has already told him he’s ready for it.
“Do I think he’s going to touch it 29 times each game? I don’t know.
I think he wants to. That’s what he’s told me.”
In Other News...
Saints Already Face A Draft Decision Fans Wont Love
With Week 1 in the books, the Saints already find themselves looking ahead to the next draft board, and the early projections are not exactly flattering for a team that still has work to do on the roster. At No. 19 overall, New Orleans is in a range where the obvious top-end talent is often gone, which makes the evaluation more complicated and the margin for error a little thinner. That is why names like Alabama EDGE Yhonzae Pierre and LSU tight end TreyDez Green are getting early attention, since both could speak directly to areas where the Saints still need help.
The biggest question remains the outside pass rush, a spot that has been a sore point and will likely shape how the front office thinks about the first round. Cam Jordans return could change the feel of that group, but it does not erase the need for more impact off the edge or close the book on how the Saints want to build around him. For now, the draft picture is only a projection, but it already hints at a decision New Orleans may not enjoy having to make when the board starts to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Enter Week 2 With Tyler Shough Suddenly Under The Spotlight
The Saints left their opener with the kind of result that can sting and encourage at the same time, a narrow overtime loss to the Lions that still showed a team willing to fight through a long afternoon. Tyler Shoughs debut had its rough patches, but it also had real flashes, and the bigger takeaway for New Orleans was that the offense had enough juice to keep answering after a rocky start.
Shoughs 400-yard day has already pushed him into a brighter spotlight, especially with several media outlets nudging the Saints upward in their power rankings after seeing how competitive they were. The question now is less about whether New Orleans can be frisky and more about how quickly Shough can turn the good stretches into a more complete performance as the season moves into Week 2. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Showed Real Fight But Left Fans Debating One Costly Decision
All four NFC South teams took losses this week, a reminder that nobody in the division could gain ground while the Saints were busy putting together one of the more frustrating performances of the weekend. Tampa Bay never found much rhythm against Cincinnatis defense, Carolina lit up the scoreboard but couldnt stop Chicago, and Atlanta had to patch together its offense around Cooper Rush after its starting quarterbacks were unavailable.
For New Orleans, the disappointment came with a little more sting because the comeback was real and the finish was close. The Saints pushed the game into overtime, then watched it slip away after a failed two-point conversion left fans sorting through what felt like a bold call in the moment and a costly one afterward. When the whole division loses and your own game ends with that kind of debate, the result lingers a lot longer than a normal Sunday setback. [Read more 🡒]