The Carolina Panthers opted to stand pat and not bring in cornerback help when the stud starting tandem of Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson Sr. went down with long-term injuries.
It was a contentious approach, but an outrageously bad performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought further scrutiny to general manager Dan Morgan's door.
If Morgan thought the Panthers could get by with trotting out rookie fourth-rounder Will Lee III and Akayleb Evans as their starting duo for long, he was sorely mistaken. And even though Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield threw the football 11 times due to a dislocated thumb, the cracks at corner were fully exposed.
Carolina Panthers' cornerback gamble is coming back to haunt them
Lee struggled in his run fits. He was out of position and hesitant. Several other problems emerged, but he quickly became a weak link that Tampa Bay exposed with alarming frequency.
Evans was a liability in coverage and against the run. He's got no business being a starter, and he's on the roster for his special-teams prowess. The Panthers thought he could fill the gap, but two of his three starts have been well below standard.
This is a problem.
And if Morgan wants to strengthen this team's chances of defending their NFC South championship, action is needed.
The Panthers don't have much salary-cap space, but there are ways around it. Morgan thought his team was close this offseason. If he still believes that, the front-office supremo has to get more help into the building.
Whether that's with a free-agent signing or a trade, drastic measures are now needed.
Dan Morgan cannot sit on his hands for much longer
The Panthers need another capable cornerback. They could also use another productive edge rusher, given how Princely Umanmielen and Patrick Jones II struggled in Jaelan Phillips' absence.
It's not ideal, but the Panthers have to react.
If not before their short week before traveling to the Green Bay Packers for Thursday Night Football, then definitely over their mini-bye.
Anything less is organizational malpractice at this juncture.
It doesn't matter if Horn and Jackson are expected back at some stage this season. The Panthers need help right now, and they are clearly putting too much on Lee's shoulders with no real quality elsewhere in the cornerback room.
If Morgan cannot see that after the debacle at Bank of America Stadium, he never will.
And no general manager should be proud enough to admit their flawed decisions.
This is not a reactionary move. The problems are there for all to see, and doing nothing after losing arguably the league's best cornerback pairing was questionable then and even more so now.
The Panthers need more. Morgan must recognize this and react accordingly, and churning out the bottom of his roster is no longer enough.
And if he wants further proof, the tape from Week 7 will provide it.
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