One surprise player to make the Panthers roster at every position
By Dean Jones
Colin Thompson – Carolina Panthers TE
The additions of Dan Arnold and Tommy Tremble should help the Carolina Panthers. Getting production from the tight end position was a struggle last season – the first without Greg Olsen – and judging by how both have settled into their new surroundings, some big improvements might be in the offing during the upcoming campaign.
What comes behind the projected starting duo is less certain. Ian Thomas has shown flashes at training camp along with a few noticeable drops, so unless he puts up some quality numbers in the preseason his name might be one of those on the chopping block.
It doesn’t appear likely Carolina will take any more than three onto the roster. If there was one player who’d benefit from Thomas’ release, it would be Colin Thompson.
The veteran worked with Matt Rhule in college and is clearly liked by the head coach. Although his contribution in 2020 was minimal, he did show enough to suggest a backup role is possible once again next time around.
Much like almost every player on this list, there is a fine line.
Even the slightest error from either Thompson or Thomas in warmup fixtures could lose them a place on the team. So it’ll come down to which player handles the pressure better in the weeks ahead.