4 Panthers players with a point to prove vs. the Falcons in Week 8

Tahir Whitehead – Carolina Panthers LB

Tahir Whitehead is now officially in the last chance saloon with the Carolina Panthers. His performances seem to be getting worse, not better, and this is something that continues to hurt Phil Snow’s defense at the second level.

Whitehead arrived in Carolina on a one-year, $2.5 million deal in free agency as a plug and play starter following Luke Kuechly’s shock retirement. The player has clearly not met the level expected when brought into the organization and he was used sparingly with the game on the line at the Saints.

For the Panthers to show more faith in Adarius Taylor than Whitehead down the stretch is proof positive that time is running out for the former Temple standout to forge a successful career in Carolina.

He will get one more chance to prove his worth on a short week on Thursday Night Football. But if the player continues to regress then the Panthers have plenty of time to bring in additional reinforcements before their Week 9 game at the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

This is more of a realistic proposition than ever. Nobody will know this more than Whitehead, but whether he can muster up enough in the way of confidence to change perceptions is another matter entirely.