5 Carolina Panthers who’ve exceeded expectations at the bye week
By Dean Jones
Shaq Thompson – Carolina Panthers OLB
Shaq Thompson will be the first to tell you last season wasn’t his best by any stretch of the imagination. The outside linebacker did manage to go over 100 tackles for a second straight year, but his intent to become the premier leader on defense in the immediate aftermath of Luke Kuechly’s retirement didn’t really come to fruition.
This is something Thompson has been keen to rectify this time around. His production and overall influence have increased significantly in 2021 and he is finally starting to live up to his first-round billing for good measure.
The Washington product did miss some time through injury, but Thompson has been one of the shining lights on a defense that has performed well overall.
This does Thompson’s chances of getting the bumper pay rise due on his contract in 2022 the world of good. His salary-cap hit is set to soar next season to $18.56 million, which is a lot for a player at the position no matter how well he’s performed.
In just nine games this season, Thompson has 64 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, six quarterback hits, five passes defended, and six pressures. Not too shabby at all by anybody’s standards.
Some common ground needs to be found between the Panthers and Thompson. Hopefully, both sides can come to some arrangement that benefits all parties involved.