The Carolina Panthers are on a mission to find another leader.
For the Carolina Panthers, the 2019 season will look a little different. It starts with training camp, as the Panthers are left without Thomas Davis and Ryan Kalil. This will be the first time in quite a long time that both individuals are not in Spartanburg. Nevertheless, the Panthers have to find a new source of leadership to replace the void.
Granted, it will be hard to replace those two. Their love for the game and their passion for it made them fun to watch every Sunday. Especially when you consider what those two went through during their Panthers careers, their experience and knowledge will certainly be missed. That leaves guys like Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson to take the role of leadership. Offensively, no one is perhaps better suited to do so on that side of the football than Greg Olsen. Olsen has been a textbook Panther for a number of years, and as his career continues, he will have to be a leader too.
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It will be interesting to see how the divvying of leadership goes. Maybe it will be a leadership by committee type thing or maybe veterans on both sides of the football will take charge. Who knows, it remains to be seen. There are various possibilities as to how this situation could play out. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this training camp will certainly be unlike any other in recent memory.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, tight end Greg Olsen knows that the Carolina Panthers will have to find leadership and fast. As he told Max Henson of Panthers.com, the team has to do some work of their own in finding a leader. That of course is going to be easier said than done.
"“A lot of new faces. A lot of young guys. That’s the NFL. Change is the only constant,” Olsen said. “We have to adapt and find new guys to fill those leadership roles. We’ve got a little over a month to do it.”"
This quest for leadership may not be one that concludes at the end of the preseason. This could be something that they figure out throughout the course of the regular season. If that’s how long it takes to identify a solid leader, then so be it. I would rather the process take its time and not be rushed. Especially with this special group, finding a leader should be taken very seriously.
It will be interesting to see what the Panthers do. As of right now, they are on the hunt for players to step up. That’s what I like the most about training camp. Unheralded players make a name for themselves while trying their best to make the team. As the search for leadership takes its course, an unheralded name may soon be very much in the spotlight for the Carolina Panthers.