5 Panthers players who need to impose themselves at OTAs

Omar Bayless – Carolina Panthers WR

The Carolina Panthers made some notable additions to their wide receiver room this offseason. They did lose Curtis Samuel to the Washington Football Team in free agency, but the acquisitions of David Moore, Terrace Marshall Jr., and Shi Smith could offset this departure if they all hit the ground running.

This leaves Omar Bayless with plenty to do during the preparation period to fight his way up the depth chart. The undrafted free agent made a phenomenal impression at training camp last year and looked like a lock to make the 53-man roster before an unfortunate knee injury forced him to miss the entire campaign.

Carolina thought enough of the wideout to keep him around the set-up, which is further proof of how highly he is regarded by the coaching staff. Bayless looks fit and ready to go judging by offseason workout footage, so he’ll need to make a similar impact this time around to command some targets when competitive action gets underway.

Bayless was one of college football’s most prolific wide receivers at Arkansas State in 2019 and it was a huge shock that he didn’t hear his name called. That obviously spurred him on once he got an opportunity in Carolina, with OTAs the first stage on a possible route to finally making the team once again.

Providing there are no further complications on the injury front, expect Bayless to perform well and head into the preseason fixtures with plenty of momentum.