4 Carolina Panthers fan favorites in danger of being cut before Week 1

Amare Barno - Carolina Panthers OLB

After making a splash with limited involvement towards the end of 2022, many thought Amare Barno could be in line for bigger things during his second campaign with the Carolina Panthers. While that might still be the case, the early signs surrounding the outside linebacker under Frank Reich's coaching regime don't look too promising.

Based on Barno's lack of involvement with the first-string defensive unit during early workouts, he could be way down the pass-rushing depth chart. Ejiro Evero demands a specific set of traits in his 3-4 outside linebackers, with setting the edge against the run arguably the most prioritized of all.

This is an area where Barno's struggled. He's undersized for a typical defensive end of 3-4 outside linebacker, so it's not hard to see why the former sixth-round selection has his work cut out at training camp.

Carolina didn't add anyone other than third-round selection D.J. Johnson to their edge options this offseason. That could change with plenty of salary-cap space available, which would push Barno even further down the pecking order in pursuit of a roster spot.

There's no doubt Barno faces an uphill challenge at camp. We'll find out more about the player's character in the coming weeks, but an opportunity either on the practice squad or elsewhere is likely to emerge if he doesn't do enough to make the cut.