Will David Tepper’s influence complicate Panthers 2022 offseason?

How influential could Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper become during a crucial offseason period for the organization in 2022?

After another season where the Carolina Panthers failed to deliver on early promise, team owner David Tepper has been almost invisible when it comes to appearing or speaking in front of the media. He was at the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection announcement where Sam Mills finally got the nod and also attended Super Bowl weekend, but this didn’t come with any public statements or support of Matt Rhule after he decided to give the head coach a reprieve this offseason.

Tepper reportedly spoke to Peter Schrager at an event prior to the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, and the Good Morning Football presenter was left with no doubt that the Panthers will be making another bold bid to improve their quarterback situation in the coming weeks.

"“David Tepper isn’t one to be a passive observer. I’d expect the Panthers to be major players this offseason. Watching what the Rams and Bucs have done in the last two years in getting their guys, I believe Carolina will be very aggressive at the QB position.”"

The billionaire making statements such as this is not without calculation. It piles further pressure on those in power within the franchise to get some important decisions correct in pursuit of progression.

Just how the Panthers are going to do this is unclear. They have $17.82 million in cap space currently and only one draft pick in the top-100 after trading for Sam Darnold and C.J. Henderson before and during the campaign, so things aren’t looking promising in that sense before restructures and sacrifices are made elsewhere.

The pressure is on Rhule and others to hit some serious home runs in free agency, the draft, and perhaps even the trade market should the opportunity arise.

Tepper might have decided to hand the former Baylor man one more season. But the complete overhaul of coaches working under him indicates some conditions were perhaps made in order for Rhule to keep his job.

This is not the sort of man to sit around and wait for things to happen. Tepper didn’t acquire his vast wealth and become the NFL’s richest owner by not going bold and it would be a shock if he doesn’t throw his weight around during the decision-making process.

His clear decision to land a big fish saw failed bids for Deshaun Watson and Matthew Stafford last year. Whether the Panthers go back in for the Houston Texans quarterback is dependent on how his legal situation plays out – but Tepper was willing to go for broke in 2021 and could do the same again if everything concludes in a satisfactory fashion.

Tepper has yet to experience a winning season since buying the Panthers from disgraced former owner and founder Jerry Richardson. Sloping off into the shadows when he couldn’t find enough cameras initially is a damning indictment of how he feels things are currently transpiring.

Ownership should stay out of team affairs, in all honesty. One only has to look at how the likes of Jerry Jones and the late Al Davis complicated matters with the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders respectively as proof of this.

This will obviously depend on Tepper’s confidence in Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer. But there is a growing belief across the league that Carolina is about to become big players in their quest for a veteran quarterback given how Darnold struggled from Week 3 onwards.

Any pressure piled on by Tepper could do more harm than good. Only time will tell as to how it all plays out.