Monday’s departures for Carolina Panthers all but inevitable
The Carolina Panthers released two veterans Monday.
It was a changing of the guard of sorts on Monday for the Carolina Panthers as they told two veterans on the defensive side of the football to clean out their lockers. The team parted ways with Captain Munnerlyn and Mike Adams as they look to get younger on that side of the ball.
Munnerlyn played seven years with the Carolina Panthers, appearing in 107 games, recording eight interceptions, nine sacks, and 52 pass deflections. He recorded 371 combined tackles, and 14 quarterback hits to boot. Coming off injury in 2017, Munnerlyn was expected to have a big 2018 campaign. However, he struggled in some games. He recorded an interception and 47 tackles in 16 contests, five of which he started. His 60.3 coverage rating according to Pro football Focus was the third-worst in his career. One game that really stuck out to me was the Seattle contest. Helping to fill in for an injured Donte Jackson, he got burned badly on several plays.
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Mike Adams started in all 16 games, recording 75 tackles six forced tables and three interceptions. Two of those came in the Panthers contest October 7 against the New York Giants. He had a tremendous outing, and was a key reason why Carolina won that game. His 47.1 defensive rating in 2018 was the worst of his career and his 41.4 coverage rating was also the rest of his career. Adams has had a tremendous decade-plus of production on the football field. Last season was not his best work.
Carolina looks to be getting younger, particularly at the secondary position. Although Adams and Munnerlyn were to key pieces to the Carolina defense for many years, it is time to go in a new direction. Especially with the National Football League becoming even more of a passing league, young cornerbacks who can move in with more speed and are a bit more agile hold a tremendous level of importance. Having players with that skill set could be the difference between winning and losing ballgames.
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It will be interesting to see how the Panthers replace these two. Whether it be through the draft or free agency, there are many avenues Carolina can choose to go. Hopefully, these two will find work with other teams. I believe both of them still have a little bit left in the tank, and they certainly could be useful for a team that is primarily composed of younger players. One thing is for certain, they have done a lot for the Panthers over the years, and we wish them nothing but the best.
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