4 Carolina Panthers who could get reduced playing time in Week 5 at Bears
By Luke Gray
This is the most optimism we’ve seen surrounding the Carolina Panthers despite their 1-3 record.
After the first two weeks where the Panthers lost by an aggregate score of 73-13, fans would be forgiven for thinking this season under Dave Canales would unfortunately be more of the same. But in the last two weeks, we've seen something that has been rare since David Tepper bought the team in 2018.
Things are far from perfect, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Panthers are depleted and lost two more starters in Week 4 with both Shaq Thompson and Josey Jewell going down. The team captain will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles, which is a devastating blow.
Canales has some decisions to make concerning playing time/ Some players have flattered to deceive or haven’t made the most of the opportunity afforded to them to impress. There will be a cut-off point at some stage.
Without further ado, here are four Panthers who could see a reduction in playing time in Week 5 at the Chicago Bears.
Carolina Panthers players who could see reduced playing time in Week 5
D.J. Johnson - Carolina Panthers OLB
Previous general manager Scott Fitterer's awful draft day decisions played another part in his firing. There aren’t many picks worse than D.J. Johnson.
The Carolina Panthers traded up in the 2023 NFL Draft to select the edge rusher out of Oregon with the No. 80 overall pick and the returns have been nothing short of abysmal. Johnson has produced just 29 total tackles and half a sack in 17 games, hardly the level expected from a top-100 pick.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the pass-rushing options outside of Johnson are severely limited. The Panthers released Eku Leota despite him seemingly being the only one to get pressure early in the season. Newly acquired veteran Charles Harris has not impressed to start his tenure and D.J. Wonnum still finds himself on the physically unable-to-perform list.
Until Wonnum returns to be the inevitable starter, Johnson will likely see extended snaps. But everything we’ve seen from the player in his short NFL career suggests his impact will be minimal.
Canales and the Panthers will be hoping that Wonnum can hit the ground running and build on his career year a season ago. Just when that will be is another matter.