Panthers: Amini Silatolu should not get first-team reps

The Carolina Panthers are making a very questionable decision…

As the Carolina Panthers mandatory minicamp wrapped up on Thursday, head coach Ron Rivera gave some clues as to who will get first-rep looks at left guard when training camp begins in August. Although nothing is set in stone, Rivera wants to potentially give Amini Silatolu a first crack at things when camp starts.

"“I anticipate him being at the top of the list to get that opportunity, yes. But we have a few guys who all performed well during OTAs and minicamp,” Rivera said. “All of those guys will get a real serious look at , and I’m excited to see who is going to step up.”"

Silatolu was drafted in the second round (No. 40 overall) in 2012. He played college football at Midwestern State and made an impact as soon as he arrived in the National Football League. Wearing No. 61, he played in 15 games in the ’12 campaign starting all of them. He played well that year, recovering a fumble to boot, and was named to the 2012 NFL All-Rookie Team. Teammate Luke Kuechly was named to the team as well.

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For some Carolina Panthers fans, this could be seen as a questionable decision. This just means he will get first reps come camp. This does not mean he will start. For those who do not want to see him start, the good news is that there is a lot of depth at the left guard position. Taylor Moton, Jeremiah Sirles, Tyler Larsen and Greg Van Roten are among the others at the position. Silatolu is not the end-all, be-all. He has not performed well as of late and the fact that he is getting first-team reps to begin with is a very questionable move on the part of Rivera. With other more capable candidates, he should not be getting first-team reps.

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Hang tight Panther fans. This is all part of the process leading up to training camp. If you are a Silatolu fan, this is great news. If you are not, trust the process at the very least. Everything will (hopefully) work itself out in the end.