5 Carolina Panthers players who could be benched after Week 5 disaster

The Carolina Panthers are coming under fire once again. Their attempts to restore order and become respected around the league are falling flat. Dave Canales is dealing with some injury issues, but so is everybody else. Unfortunately for the head coach, this roster is devoid of legitimate talent or sufficient depth.

That's a recipe for disaster. The Panthers are among the league's worst teams once again after so much hope among the fanbase throughout the offseason. Canales was heavily criticized for his comments surrounding Bryce Young and wanting to protect Andy Dalton, which he's back-tracked on. But it's another sign that the dark cloud hanging over the franchise isn't going away anytime soon.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Panthers have some tricky games upcoming over the next month before they head off to Germany - including two divisional battles with the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. If Canales wants to salvage something from the campaign, he needs to make changes.

With this in mind, here are five Panthers players who could be benched after their Week 5 disaster at the Chicago Bears.

Carolina Panthers players who could be benched after Week 5 disaster

D.J. Johnson - Carolina Panthers OLB

Edge rusher D.J. Johnson played 45 percent of the Carolina Panthers' defensive snaps in Week 5 at the Chicago Bears. Some fans would argue that this is 45% too many. The former third-round pick isn't meeting expectations, cannot generate any meaningful pressure in opposing backfields, and isn't setting the edge effectively on running plays to further raise concerns.

This experiment with Johnson needs to conclude at some point. The Panthers traded up to secure his services at No. 80 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, which bemused at the time and even more so now. He is an aging development project tasked with more responsibilities than his talent can handle. Those in power didn't do enough to fortify their pass rush in the offseason and it's costing them dearly.

The Panthers are still waiting for D.J. Wonnum to return from his torn quad. Dan Morgan probably thought he'd be back by now considering the investment made in free agency. But even when he does become active, it'll take him time to become impactful. That could be Johnson's saving grace when it's all said and done.