Carolina Panthers: Three players who need to rebound against the Bills
By Alex Duran
These Carolina Panthers need to play well on Friday.
Football is officially unofficially back. Last Thursday night provided us with some satisfying Panther programming after what seemed like an eternity. Quite a few rookies were put in the spotlight and made good use of their time against a stout Bears team. I’m sure we can all agree that watching Brian Burns acquire his first sack of the night was quite satisfying. Then there was second-year veteran Marquis Haynes who matched Burns’ sack total for the night. And who could forget the return of Tre Boston? While we didn’t see the entire first team offense or defense, it’s nice to see how the rotation is shaping up. However, there were a few people who didn’t perform up to par. Three players need to steal the show this Friday if they want to make the final fifty-three.
The Panthers desperately need their wide receivers to be reliable if they want a shot at the Lombardi trophy. So far there are five players that we can safely say earned their spot. One last spot is up for grabs and there is plenty of competition for it.
Robinson signed a one year deal with the Panthers in May. He was claimed on the idea that he could use his speed and soft hands to solidify the Panther’s wide receiver corps. So far he’s dropped a few passes at training camp and only caught one of four intended passes against the Bears.
Robinson is facing arguably the stiffest competition for the Panthers this year. Robinson is fighting for the last wide receiver spot and can not afford afford to drop passes. Robinson must show out this Friday, especially considering rookie wide receiver Terry Godwin impressed on Thursday.
Carolina went out of their way to shore up on the defensive line this offseason. As a team that prides themselves on having a stout defense, the Panthers won’t allow anyone to slack off. The projected starters were on the sidelines holding their backups accountable on Thursday. Unfortunately for Butler, they didn’t have any highlights to record for him.
There is still hope for the defensive tackle. Now that the Panthers have switched to a hybrid defense, the former first-round pick can still prove he is a serviceable defensive player. He’s definitely not going to be here next year since the Panthers already declined his fifth year option. With the addition of Gerald McCoy and return of Kyle Love, Butler could see his way out the door sooner. If he doesn’t start playing like a first-round pick he might find himself out of the league altogether.
Undrafted free agents go through a rough time before being signed. Even after they sign they could bounce around for weeks before being given a shot at the starting job. In a series of unfortunate events, former UDFA Taylor Heinicke found himself at the helm of the Panthers’ offense last year. He performed valiantly enough to warrant the creation of a shirt. However, his momentum began to peter out last Thursday which led to an unimpressive performance.
On what might have been one of his last nights as a Panther, Heinicke’s time on the field turned out to be a bust. Only four of his nine passes were completed and he totaled less than half of the net passing yards as his peers. While Heinicke stepped up in a big way for the Panthers during last year’s debacle, he’s on the bubble now.
The last man in line as a potential backup to our beloved QB1 has virtually no room for error. He’ll have to make every snap against the Bills count, lest he find himself donning one of their uniforms in September.