With the Atlanta Falcons awaiting the Carolina Panthers' arrival in Week 1 of the 2023 campaign, we look at the major storylines following the team.
The last few weeks have been reminiscent of the hustle and bustle that surrounds the holiday season. It’s like we’ve all been collectively baking cookies, decorating the house, and engaging in on-theme events to build anticipation and set the mood for the big day.
This year, the adults of the household did a terrific job in hiding the gifts and eliminating the temptation of prematurely peeking.
The day has finally arrived. The NFL Week 1 experience is underway, and the Carolina Panthers get their first taste of action on Sunday as the team heads southbound on I-85 to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face off against the Atlanta Falcons.
As with any surprise, such as wrapped presents underneath a tree, there’s an accompanying degree of anxiety that travels alongside the inevitable excitement. All the build-up, the momentum, the prerequisite work – it all comes to an initial boil in that opening moment.
The substantial alterations that the Panthers have made throughout the organization, from the roster to the coaching staff, will begin to materialize once the team kicks off regular season action.
This is the first installment of a season-long series that I’ll be rolling out each week prior to the upcoming contest. With that in mind, here are my major storylines surrounding the Panthers heading into their divisional Week 1 matchup.
Carolina Panthers hesitancy with Brian Burns
It’s not often that I would begin a piece focusing on the major storylines of the Carolina Panthers and not immediately cast the spotlight on Bryce Young. However, thanks to the head-scratching hesitancy of general manager Scott Fitterer and owner David Tepper, here we are.
The pass-rushing unit for Ejiro Evero’s defense already stomached a blow this week, with the announcement of sixth-year outside linebacker Marquis Haynes Sr. landing on injured/reserve for at least the first four weeks of the season after he suffered a setback to the back injury that caused him to miss the entire preseason.
Haynes was seemingly in line to serve as the first man off the bench behind starters Justin Houston and Brian Burns. That brings me to the next concern, which also easily happens to be the larger one.
As of writing this article, Burns hasn’t signed a contract extension and head coach Frank Reich has been unable to confirm whether that would result in the star pass rusher being inactive for Week 1. If he doesn’t take the field, this Panthers' defense instantly becomes far less dangerous.
The former Florida State Seminole is one of the overall best players on the entire team, and absolutely among the most valuable. Burns amassed 12.5 sacks last season and has been garnering rave reviews for his offseason dedication and outlook for the 2023 campaign.
Most recent reporting has detailed that the contract negotiations are “not at all close” between Burns and the Panthers front office. The star edge presence did take the practice field on Wednesday and was designated a full participant, for what it’s worth.
A major benefit of having a quarterback on a rookie contract, not to mention the hopeful franchise left tackle also in that same boat, is having the ability to pay elite players at premier positions to build a championship roster around these bargain financials. This situation looks to qualify as such, in my opinion.
The Los Angeles Rams reportedly offered a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick, and their 2025 first-rounder for Burns around the trade deadline last season. The Panthers declined that offer, and it was at that exact moment, that his value was set to skyrocket if the organization didn’t move swiftly. They did not.
Having lost any worthwhile leverage in the negotiations while perfecting their thumb twiddling, the thinking has been that Burns and the Panthers have been awaiting an extension of Nick Bosa from the San Francisco 49ers first.
That sound you just heard? That was the other shoe-dropping.
Bosa inked a market-resetting five-year $170 million extension, including $122 million guaranteed. Had the Panthers organization been proactive and aggressive, they possibly could’ve saved themselves quite the slice of quiche. Now, I’m of the opinion it will cost them a minimum of around $28 million annually to get pen to paper.
Burns may very well take the field in Week 1 even without a new deal, as he’s shown to be laser-focused on helping this team succeed. It would just go a long way for the players on this team to see this ownership and front office taking care of their own.
The Atlanta Falcons offense figures to operate within a run-heavy approach, based on head coach Arthur Smith’s proclivity to do so last year and the addition of rookie phenom Bijan Robinson. However, they still will have to throw the football enough to keep the defense honest.
With Desmond Ridder being the answer to the infamous ‘show me the quarterback who threw that ball’ question, Carolina would benefit greatly from having big No. 0 out there making life for the second-year quarterback even more uncomfortable than he is apparently capable of doing himself.
Carolina Panthers WR worries
The initial Week 1 injury report was released yesterday, and it contained four wide receivers. The Carolina Panthers carry six total wideouts on their 53-man roster. That’s not a favorable percentage of healthy-to-unhealthy.
Adam Thielen was the biggest surprise on the injury report, as he showed up as a limited participant due to an ankle ailment. It was the first I’ve personally heard or seen of the issue, so my hope is that it’s minor and he should be fine to take the field in a few days.
Terrace Marshall Jr. was limited with his back injury. Although he’s been progressing and is past the original “few weeks” timeline that was initially projected.
Marshall is a key player in this offense. He’s probably the only wide receiver in the entire group that has the ability and versatility to play any of the receiver alignments on the field.
He also provides a sorely needed deep threat, especially if fellow wideout D.J. Chark is unable to suit up. The free-agent signing's injury is a bit more worrisome to me, being that it’s a soft tissue complication and he has already alluded to the notion of not rushing back to avoid setbacks.
Not to mention the most obvious aspect of why his injury concerns me most – he was listed as DNP for Wednesday’s practice. Chark provides the straight-line deep threat and fills the contested catch role for this offense.
Laviska Shenault Jr. had been working through the five-step concussion protocol for the past couple of weeks but finally received full clearance last Wednesday. While it’s nice that he’s healthy, the versatile weapon is not exactly the player that you want lined up outside. He's done his damage in more… conjured opportunities and short routes.
Rookie Jonathan Mingo has shown serious potential through flashes in the preseason and training camp, but it’s been a bit inconsistent still. He profiles as the best chance of a dynamic, WR1 out of the group, but I’d bet that this is earlier than the team would’ve hoped to be asking him to shoulder that responsibility.
If you have Mingo on your fantasy roster, he may very well be a target monster this week.
Newly signed Ihmir Smith-Marsette was a full participant and will be ready to play. He led the Kansas City Chiefs in receiving yards during the preseason and is a big play waiting to happen. He may be cleared for take-off much sooner than anticipated, mainly out of necessity.
Reading between all the banged-up lines here, this Carolina Panthers offense could be operating with one arm tied behind its back against the Falcons. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Marshall on a snap count of sorts on Sunday and to see Chark held out entirely.
This offense has been kept under wraps all preseason, so we’re already not exactly sure what to expect. Limping into the contest at the wide receiver spot doesn't provide much in the way of hoping to unlock the master plan.
Do the Carolina Panthers have enough on DL?
I had a tough time choosing between the offensive line and the defensive line for my final storyline. But considering the opponent and the potential problems their personnel and styles may drum up – I’ve landed on the defensive front.
Before all these new headaches came about, my biggest concern approaching the regular season was the depth of the interior defensive line and how Ejiro Evero's defense overall would fare against the run. That concern hasn’t faded, it’s just simply moved down the pecking order thanks to previously stated headaches.
The Carolina Panthers depth chart lists Derrick Brown, Shy Tuttle, and DeShawn Williams as the starters on the defensive front. That would be the look coming out in a base 3-4 scheme, but we’ve already discussed how that may not be as often as one might expect.
The second unit is listed as LaBryan Ray, Nick Thurman, and LaBryan Ray. Not a typo, that’s the depth chart. This unit is thin, and Williams was listed as a DNP for Wednesday’s practice due to an illness.
Henry Anderson was penciled in to be a productive player along the front this season, as he has valuable experience on the outside and inside. He found himself on the season-ending injured/reserve last week after suffering a foot injury in the preseason loss to the New York Jets.
Yes, the team can elevate a couple of practice squad players each week and could be likely to bring up a defensive lineman if the current situation holds up. But even in that case, it feels fair to feel less than enthused about a lighter defensive front facing a Week 1 opponent who would be happier than a dog with two tails to carry the football 40+ times in this contest.
I anticipate the Atlanta Falcons will try their hardest not to become reliant on their inexperienced, non-captain quarterback. Unfortunately for the Panthers and this defensive line, that will present itself in the form of smashmouth, repetitive running of the football.
It’s not all despair, just to be clear. I’m excited to see Brown get usage all over the front. And I think the run defense will get support from the second and third-level defenders, as well. I also feel very positively about the emergence of big nickel Jeremy Chinn.
There just has been a great emphasis on building the defensive line with versatility in mind and with players that could get after the opponent's signal-caller. This defense will face a nice litmus test right out of the gate as to whether that’s an effective build strategy.