How can general manager Scott Fitterer earn the trust of Carolina Panthers fans during an important offseason in 2023?
After more than three years of ineptitude under the Matt Rhule regime, the Carolina Panthers front office and coaching staff have undergone a much-needed update.
The new staff is a cocktail of NFL experience and youthful ingenuity. Despite all of this change, David Tepper decided to retain general manager Scott Fitterer, who joined the team in the 2021 offseason.
During Fitterer’s tenure to date, the Panthers made several questionable roster decisions that contributed to the terrible on-field product. These poor moves brought many Panthers fans to wonder why he stuck around in an offseason that seems to be all about turning a new leaf.
Why not just start fully from scratch? The prevailing sentiment is that Fitterer was not all to blame for these decisions.
There is a lack of clarity regarding the power dynamic that existed between Fitterer and Rhule. It has been reported that the head coach was granted full roster control, which may have limited the general manager’s options.
From a fan’s perspective, it is hard to evaluate Fitterer’s performance. We do not know exactly which decisions were his. So, it is illogical to pin all of the bad decisions on Rhule while crediting all of the good ones to him, and vice versa.
Within the new staff structure, it appears that Fitterer will assume the traditional role and responsibilities. He’ll have control over the 53-man roster, which means the spotlight has increased exponentially.
There will be no one else to blame for the roster decisions this go around. In a very pivotal offseason, Fitterer boasts an opportunity to either endear himself to Panthers fans or to become public enemy No. 1.
Here are three ways Fitterer can earn the trust of Panthers fans this off-season.
Carolina Panthers must draft a QB
The story of the Carolina Panthers quarterback position is a tragedy that would make Romeo and Juliet look like a rom-com.
Long story short, Carolina has struggled to replace Cam Newton. Under Scott Fitterer, the Panthers have given up draft capital in an attempt to rehabilitate the careers of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. These projects have largely failed and left the franchise with no long-term answer.
The Panthers’ current depth chart consists of Matt Corral, who fractured his foot in last year’s preseason. They also signed Jacob Eason to a futures contract.
Needless to say, Carolina will be looking to add more upside and stability to this room.
Of course, the Panthers could attempt to go the veteran quarterback route. They have been linked to Derek Carr. In addition, Panthers players have made some playful efforts to recruit former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson to Carolina.
While Carr might offer some stability. Jackson provides excitement and undeniable upside, but they both would be costly options with risk of failure.
This feels like the Panthers’ front office is repeating the mistakes they made in going after Darnold and Mayfield. Even though Carr and Jackson are much better than the aforementioned duo.
Most of all, adding one of these options would likely keep the Panthers from taking a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft. Fitterer has been rather clear that he wants to draft and develop a signal-caller. But sitting at No. 9 overall, Carolina could risk future assets to get their guy.
In this, it may feel like the Panthers are repeating their mistake of overspending. However, if they finally get the right guy long-term, so what?
There is no perfect quarterback prospect in the 2023 draft class. Yet, each of the top talents brings something to work with.
Bryce Young is undersized but has elite play-making skills. C.J. Stroud could be more dynamic at times but has elite accuracy. Anthony Richardson lacks experience which shows up in his inconsistent throwing touch, but his athletic upside is undeniable. Will Levis needs to sharpen his decision-making but has a rocket launcher arm and moxie for days.
The Panthers have assembled a coaching staff primed and ready to get the best out of their quarterback. Fitterer needs to get them one.
Carolina Panthers must get serious about the TE position
In addition to quarterback, the Carolina Panthers have a glaring need for a receiving tight end. Since the departure of Greg Olsen, there’s been very little receiving production from the spot, which has to change.
This lack of production continued in 2022. Something that was recently highlighted by Ellis Williams of the Charlotte Observer.
"“Tight ends Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble and Giovanni Ricci combined for 471 yards on 48 catches. That stat line — three players combined — ranks 15th among all tight ends, behind Bears tight end Cole Kmet.”"
In their defense, the Panthers’ passing offense struggled in 2022 due to shoddy quarterback play. Under Steve Wilks, they eventually moved to a ground-and-pound offense, which limited the number of overall targets and partly stifled the production.
Nevertheless, the best NFL offenses feature a true pass-catching tight end threat. This keeps defenses off-balance and allows offenses to be more unpredictable. None of the Panthers’ tight ends appear to be capable of this.
Therefore, Scott Fitterer must address this if the Panthers hope to resemble a modern NFL offense.
Luckily, both free agency and the 2023 draft class are set to feature great options. The Panthers could target Dalton Schultz from the Dallas Cowboys or Mike Gesicki from the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, they could look to draft Dalton Kincaid from Utah or Darnell Washington out of Georgia.
There have been instances in the past where the Panthers’ front office tried to fix significant needs with patchwork, low-end free agents. For example, the 2021 season was ruined by a patchwork offensive line.
If Fitterer wants to earn the trust of fans, he needs to get serious about addressing this obvious need.
Carolina Panthers must pay the right players
One of the biggest roster-building pitfalls is paying the wrong players.
No general manager will bat 1.000 in this regard. But the Carolina Panthers have consistently allowed the wrong stars to leave in favor of extending contracts to less influential individuals or positions.
The Panthers made this mistake last offseason when they allowed Haason Reddick and Stephon Gilmore to leave while extending Ian Thomas and Donte Jackson.
Reddick went on to have an All-Pro season for the Philadelphia Eagles as a pass rusher, while Thomas and Jackson were not effective in their roles – partly due to injury, in the cornerback’s case.
Two years prior, the Panthers extended Robbie – now “Chosen” – Anderson instead of the more versatile Curtis Samuel, or investing money in the offensive line. Though the wideout had been productive in 2020, he was not able to find the same success in 2021 or 2022 and was eventually traded for the draft equivalent of a ham sandwich.
This offseason, Fitterer will have work to do in re-signing center Bradley Bozeman. This should be the top priority above all else.
Bozeman played an integral role in the offense’s transformation to a ground-and-pound machine. In addition, he is a leader in the locker room and quickly became a fixture in the community. There would be no logical excuse for allowing him to sign with another team.
In addition to Bozeman, Carolina also needs to extend Brian Burns very soon. As it stands, the defensive end is arguably the face of the Panthers right now.
He is one of the few marquee players on the roster. Burns is a young, talented player in a premium position. It also feels like the former first-round pick may be primed for a substantial leap forward within Ejiro Evero’s defensive scheme.
If Scott Fitterer wants to earn the trust of Panthers fans, he should pay Bozeman and Burns.