4 injured Carolina Panthers players who should bounce back in 2022
By Dean Jones
Which Carolina Panthers players who spent significant time on the injury list could bounce back in fine style when the 2022 season gets underway?
Injuries are all part of NFL life. The violent nature of the game dictates that players will miss time through various problems, with a newly introduced 17-game season doing little to ease the strain on competitors and the Carolina Panthers were not immune from this, either.
Things went downhill rapidly for the Panthers in 2021. Obviously losing some key members of the roster for a significant period of time didn’t help, but one cannot deny that the campaign overall was one of significant underachievement.
What comes next for the Panthers is hugely important. The right recruits need to be found and important players extended, so things are teetering on a knife-edge for Matt Rhule and other primary decision-makers in the coming weeks.
Without further ado, here are four Panthers players who have the potential to come back from injury in a big way next season.
Player No. 1
Daviyon Nixon – Carolina Panthers DT
Considering there was little expected of Daviyon Nixon coming into the league as a fifth-round pick, the Carolina Panthers should be highly encouraged by what they’ve seen from the explosive defensive tackle so far. The character concerns that caused his draft stock to plummet were non-existent, with the Iowa product establishing himself as a key part of the rotation and making some big plays along the way.
Sadly, Nixon’s rookie campaign came to an abrupt halt after just seven games. But if the lineman can recover well and develop his craft this offseason, he should have an even greater part to play next time around.
General manager Scott Fitterer has a solid reputation for finding gems later on in the draft. Nixon already looks like another and huge things could be in the player’s future next season and beyond.