There were groans of collective derision among the fan base on social media when the Carolina Panthers placed veteran Nick Scott as the team's starting safety opposite free-agent signing Tre'von Moehrig on their unofficial depth chart. And based on his preseason showing against the Cleveland Browns, it's not hard to see why.
Just what the Panthers see in Scott is anyone's guess. He failed to meet even modest expectations last season, but somehow managed to get a new one-year deal as a result of his efforts. Reports suggest those in power see him as a special-teams ace, but there wasn't much on-field evidence to support this notion in 2024.
The signs throughout the summer hint at a bigger role for Scott. Carolina spent lavish sums to get Moehrig into the building. They also have Demani Richardson and Lathan Ransom, but defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero obviously trusts the former seventh-round pick out of Penn State despite his painfully obvious frailties.
Nick Scott's wayward preseason performance should raise red flags for Carolina Panthers
These showed no signs of diminishing versus the Browns. And it quickly became a depressingly familiar scenario for the player.
Scott was a liability as expected in the defensive rotation. He struggled in coverage and couldn't react quickly enough to get himself to the contact point. Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders had his way with Carolina's secondary, which is a damning indictment of the personnel available after so much hope during the offseason.
If this were any other team around the league, Scott would be fighting for his roster spot. His performances have consistently declined over the last two years. Evero might like him, but he might want to reconsider placing huge responsibilities on his shoulders with his own future on the line.
This was a wake-up call for the Panthers. The starters didn't play for long, but their second and third-string options don't look up to the required standard. That's a dangerous combination for a team that has gone through its fair share of injury problems in recent years.
Scott has lost the faith of fans. They can see how things often unfold when he's in the lineup, and it's going to take a monumental effort to turn the tide in the coming weeks before their regular-season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Whether he's capable or not remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that Richardson should be ahead of him in the pecking order right now.
Anything less is organizational malpractice.