5 Carolina Panthers players who don’t get enough respect

Which Carolina Panthers players aren’t getting enough respect ahead of a crucial 2022 season for the organization?

Respect has to be earned in the NFL. Considering how little winning the Carolina Panthers have accomplished over the last three seasons, it’s not hard to see why many are once again projecting them to be among the bottom feeders when competitive games commence in 2022.

That’s to be expected, in all honesty. But it should not detract from what a talented roster the Panthers have outside of one or two problem positions that could use some fine-tuning before the campaign.

Adding quarterback Baker Mayfield into the mix only adds to the fascination. If the signal-caller takes this challenge head-on and makes others around him better, then Carolina becoming a surprise package in 2022 is a genuine possibility.

For now, here are five Panthers players who don’t get nearly enough respect.

Player No. 1

Zane Gonzalez – Carolina Panthers K

The life of a kicker is often turbulent. Zane Gonzalez has experienced plenty of that throughout his career so far before finally finding salvation with the Carolina Panthers, which the team sorely needed after Joey Slye and Ryan Santoso failed to meet expectations.

Gonzalez grasped this opportunity and then some. The former seventh-round selection was lights out before injury cut his campaign short, but the Panthers made the right call by handing him a new contract to potentially solidify a problem position long term.

Things can change in the blink of an eye. But Gonzalez has the scope to earn more respect by building on this newfound momentum in 2022.