3 Carolina Panthers players that must be benched immediatley after Week 5 loss
By Dean Jones
Which Carolina Panthers players must be benched immediately after the team suffered another embarrassing loss at the Detroit Lions in Week 5?
This is getting painful. In more ways than one.
The Carolina Panthers are firmly in the midst of another season of abject failure. Their latest capitulation at the Detroit Lions leaves them winless after five games and with a trip to the Miami Dolphins on the immediate horizon before the bye, there's a very real chance Frank Reich will be starting his head coaching tenure in Charlotte with an 0-6 record.
That is completely unacceptable considering the investment made to the coaching infrastructure and the delusions sold to the fanbase before the campaign. Desperate times call for desperate measures and at least for now, talk is extremely cheap.
While it won't fix everything, here are three Panthers players who must be benched immediately following yet another demoralizing reverse in Week 5.
Ian Thomas - Carolina Panthers TE
Enough.
No Carolina Panthers fan would be crying many tears if Ian Thomas never took another snap for the franchise. He's just not up to the required standard - even as a blocking specialist that the coaching staff has attempted to turn him into - so giving younger individuals with more upside a chance to shine with nothing much to play for represents the best course of action.
Make Tommy Tremble a legitimate No. 2 rather than dropping him in and out. Give Giovanni Ricci or Stephen Sullivan upon his return a chance to prove they belong. What harm could it do at this juncture?
There is enough of a sample size surrounding Thomas to know he cannot be trusted. And just what Frank Reich was thinking dialing up a screen in his direction that led to Bryce Young's first interception at the Detroit Lions is anyone's guess.