3 burning questions Carolina Panthers are asking ahead of Week 1 at the Saints

Country music superstar and voice of the Sunday Night Football theme song, Carrie Underwood, sings “Been waiting all day for Sunday night” in the primetime jingle. Well, we’ve been waiting 205 days for this Thursday night… but who’s counting, right?

The NFL regular season gets underway with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium for Thursday Night Football. While it’s a welcomed sight for sore eyes, the main event for the Carolina Panthers' faithful comes just a few days later when Dave Canales' men march into the Caesars Superdome down in New Orleans to clash with the division-foe Saints.

What better way to get honed in for the contest than to hear the questions that fans are curious about leading into the first matchup? Keep in mind that we’ll open the mailbag up every week with the answers to come each Wednesday, in preparation for the next game. So, keep these great inquiries coming - I thank you for your involvement.

Without any further delay, let’s open some mail…

Burning questions Carolina Panthers fans are asking ahead of Week 1 at the Saints

Carolina Panthers' edge rushing problem

Are the Panthers going to sign an edge rusher to help (Jadeveon) Clowney before the season opener? – Ronnie Steelman

Thanks for the question, Ronnie. For what it’s worth, looking at the recently released unofficial depth chart for the regular season opener, I’d be willing to bet Jadeveon Clowney himself wouldn’t be upset about bringing in additional help getting after the opponent's quarterback. Unfortunately, there are a couple of obstacles that make me answer this question with an ‘I don’t see it’.

First off, the team currently is projected to be right about $8 million on the wrong side of the salary cap. The organization did release relentlessly disappointing former first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson. That move will shed $2 million off that project cap figure while incurring a $500k dead money hit. It also paints a clear picture of how underwhelming this group looks on paper.

Second-year edge player D.J. Johnson is penciled in as the starter opposite of Clowney, with Eku Leota and newly claimed Jamie Sheriff as the backup options. The team could opt to promote a body from the practice squad if they’re feeling uneasy about the numbers going down to the bayou.

Tarron Jackson and Thomas Incoom would be the available options for now. The Carolina Panthers still have the top priority on the waiver wire, so it’s worth monitoring any moves other teams make in the next couple of weeks as well, for cost-controlled options.