Panthers’ young players contributing more due to injuries provides opportunity for growth
The expectation coming into the 2020 season for the Carolina Panthers was that plenty of young players would see playing time. Drafting a historic seven defensive players will do that to a team.
But younger players have had increased roles as of late due to injuries.
Injuries are, of course, a part of every season, as they have been for the Panthers (3-6) this year. Most of that injury-related attention has surrounded running back Christian McCaffrey. He will miss his seventh game of the season with Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) due to a shoulder injury that occurred at the end of the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
That prompted a big opportunity for backup Mike Davis, who has proven himself to be a reliable option behind one of the league’s best running backs.
There have been injuries in other areas, including to many players who the Panthers brought in during the course of the offseason. Whether or not those deals or signings were good or bad decisions is for another time. But for a 3-6 team that is building for the long run, putting younger players out there isn’t necessarily the end of the world. What the injuries have done is give the Panthers time to get extended looks at younger players, which can only benefit a team that is rebuilding and looking to improve as time goes on.
Defensive end
Defensive end Stephen Weatherly was placed on injured reserve Friday after having season-ending surgery on his finger that morning.
In 60.5% of the defensive snaps through nine games started, Weatherly had 17 tackles, one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. He signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract this spring, but cutting him in the offseason wouldn’t be a big cost for the Panthers. His dead cap hit is $2 million for next year, per Spotrac. Weatherly is in his fifth season after spending his first four years in Minnesota.
A variety of players will be expected to see increased snaps in his absence. Those include Efe Obada, who has been playing more inside as of late, and young players Austin Larkin and Marquis Haynes, who has taken advantage of limited playing time with three sacks this year. Brian Burns, who is having a great second season, could also help out even more if needed and rookie Yetur Gross-Matos, who is coming back from an ankle injury, is also likely to get more opportunities.
All of those players are growing and progressing in defensive coordinator Phil Snow’s defense, especially Gross-Matos, who has dealt with injuries. While it’s never ideal to lose a player for the season who was a part of the defensive rotation, it will be interesting to see how the younger players take advantage of the playing time in the last seven games and give some players who have shown flashes even more chances.
Safety
Safety Juston Burris is back from a three-week stint on injured reserve with a rib injury But in his place, undrafted rookie Sam Franklin proved he deserves more playing time on defense.
“Sam will still be in the mix with everything. Juston hasn’t played in a while so I don’t think it’s fair to put him out there for every snap,” Snow said this week. “Sam’s got a long ways to go because he hasn’t played the safety position that long. But he’s done a really good job in the games that he’s played in, so yeah, he deserved more (playing) time.”
Franklin sacked Patrick Mahomes last week to put an exclamation point on his recent work. Despite not playing more than two defensive snaps in a single game before Burris’ injury in Week 6, he has filled in well, while still showing he has room for growth. Burris was solid before his injury, but getting Franklin the opportunities would not have happened without the injury.
Left tackle
Left tackle Russell Okung will miss his fifth game of the season Sunday with a calf injury. Okung was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers that sent guard Trai Turner out west. Turner has played in only one game this year due to injury.
Without Okung, the Panthers have watched a variety of players take on the left tackle position as part of a rotation. Fellow former Charger Trent Scott, in his third year in the league, has played in five games on offense. Greg Little, a 2019 second-round pick, has started three games but was pulled from the Week 8 loss to Atlanta. And Dennis Daley has returned and played all of the snaps at left tackle against the Chiefs before he left the game with an injury. He’ll likely be on the field a good portion again against the Buccaneers.
Okung had just one year left on his deal when he came to Carolina, is 33-years old and has played only one 16-game season in his career. The future at the position is still being determined. Developing offensive linemen is a priority for teams, and although Okung may be the best option to put on the field, the Panthers are getting even more of a look at young players who they would like to see grow. Which all works well for a season that was supposed to be about establishing things under coach Matt Rhule and improving as the season went on.
“When (young players) have an opportunity to play, and all of sudden they have a chance to step up, I think it’s less for us and more for them,” Rhule said. “A lot of times we know, ‘Hey, this guy is going to be a good player, Dennis Daley’s going to be a heck of a left tackle.’ Sometimes the player might not know that, because they haven’t gotten out there. Once they finally get in there, and they finally play, they recognize it. And then, what you end up having is you have a team with more and more and more experience.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Panthers’ young players contributing more due to injuries provides opportunity for growth."
