4 Panthers players who disappointed vs. the Bucs in Week 10

Tre Boston – Carolina Panthers S

Tre Boston is playing like a man lacking in confidence. His enthusiastic demeanor off the field seems to visibly shrink when he gets on the gridiron and this is not what the Carolina Panthers envisaged when they gave the safety a three-year, $18 million contract extension this offseason.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing to have in the NFL. There is no denying that Boston’s level of production in 2019 warranted a longer-term commitment. But seeing players regress once they get that big payday is something seem prominently across the league and is a constant source of frustration.

Boston thrived last season as a security blanket and enforcer on the backend. He was playing with a purpose that has been sorely missing this time around and he’s fast becoming a weak link on a defense that is littered with concerning elements through the first ten games of the campaign.

This was exposed early and often by the Buccaneers, who knew full well where to exploit Carolina’s deficiencies. Boston needs to man up and assume some sort of responsibility for the way this defense is performing given how much the Panthers were counting on him to become a leader after parting ways with some prominent veterans in free agency and losing iconic linebacker Luke Kuechly to a shock retirement.