4 biggest losers of the Carolina Panthers 2021 offseason so far
By Dean Jones
Troy Pride Jr. – Carolina Panthers CB
To say Troy Pride Jr. went through some growing pains during his rookie season would be an understatement.
This is not uncommon for cornerbacks adjusting to life at the next level, but it’s hard to look at his production and not be concerned about his chances of forging a successful career in the pros.
Pride Jr. came to the Carolina Panthers with some enticing qualities. He has elite speed and was around the football plenty at Notre Dame, but he was considered a little raw and this proved to be the case during his first season in a professional environment.
The Panthers weren’t going to sit around on the off chance Pride Jr. made the necessary strides this offseason. They brought in former Pro Bowler A.J. Bouye and used the No. 8 overall selection on a prospect with immediate shutdown potential in Jaycee Horn out of nearby South Carolina.
Couple this with the arrival of fifth-round Keith Taylor, and Pride Jr. has plenty of work to do in pursuit of keeping himself in the team’s plans moving forward.
Pride Jr. needs to show plenty of improvement from an awareness perspective during training camp to maintain a spot on the rotation. Whether he capable of this or not is the big question we may not know the answer to for some time yet.