Shy Tuttle - Carolina Panthers DL
The Carolina Panthers need a complete overhaul on defense this offseason. Whether that includes coordinator Ejiro Evero remains uncertain, but the players are nowhere near up to the required standard overall.
Their inability to stop the run has been an ongoing frustration throughout the season. Losing Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown and veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson hurt, but Carolina's problems in this discipline are much deeper.
Evero came in for criticism regarding his 3-4 base scheme. But it's not the system — it's the players being deployed in the system. This is no more evident than the defensive front without a genuine nose tackle clogging up space for others to do damage.
That responsibility continues to be given to Shy Tuttle for some unknown reason. He's not a legitimate anchor on the defensive front. The veteran doesn't have the size to absorb double teams effectively. His inability to identify running gaps and plug them accordingly needs to improve drastically at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18.
Tuttle's run defense grade of 35.3 from Pro Football Focus ranks 201st out of 218 qualifying interior defensive linemen. Unless significant adjustments arrive, the Falcons will exploit him as a weak link.
Miles Sanders - Carolina Panthers RB
The Panthers couldn't get anything going on the ground in Week 17 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This didn't come as a great surprise considering their top three backfield options were all on the shelf.
Chuba Hubbard's calf strain sent him to injured reserve, although head coach Dave Canales revealed that it's nothing too concerning. That's not the case with second-round rookie Jonathon Brooks, who tore the same ACL he'd been rehabbing for the best part of a year and might not be available again until 2026.
It seemed as if Miles Sanders had also played his final game for Carolina. The veteran went to injured reserve after Week 10 and is a prime salary-cap casualty this offseason. As it turned out, he'll get one final audition to improve hopes of seeing out his contract.
Sanders is back at practice and ready to make an impact. The Panthers will see how he responds to practice this week, but the former second-round selection out of Penn State can expect a decent workload if he gets the green light to participate.
Raheem Blackshear and Mike Boone didn't look capable of shouldering a heavy load in Week 17. Sanders hasn't exactly shone since joining the team either, but he's got more experience and has the urgency needed to put in a good performance.
Whether that'll mean much in the grand scheme of things is another matter.