5 major letdowns from the Carolina Panthers 2022 season
By Noah Bryce
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Yetur Gross-Matos – Carolina Panthers DE
Two and a half.
Two and a half is the only number you need to know to sum up the disaster that was Yetur Gross-Matos as a starter in 2022.
After flashing as a rotational piece, the Carolina Panthers decided to take the cheap route and let star edge rusher Hasaan Reddick walk in free agency, promoting Gross-Matos to a starting role. Boy, was that a terrible decision.
While Reddick went on to another start studded campaign, Gross-Matos trudged along while making little to no impact for the Panthers along the edge. The team finally had a complimentary piece for superstar Brian Burns in 2021 and then immediately went back to the very thing that stunted his growth in 2022.
Lack of push, lack of finesse, lack of any kind of disrupting effect, lack of gap discipline. Gross-Matos had it all. I lost track of how many times opposing teams were able to take advantage of the weak side of the line away from Burns.
Gross-Matos has always been a rotational piece and never should have been thrust into a role that is simply too big for the player to fill. On top of this, the Panthers should have been able to see the writing on the wall and go get some help along the edge, which didn’t happen.
This is a failure not only of Gross- Matos’ performance but of the front office and their ability to gauge talent and adapt.