4 cataclysmic errors that continue to haunt the Carolina Panthers in 2023
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers have not set QBs up for success
This is an issue that dates back to the days of Cam Newton. The former NFL MVP took a rag-tag group of wide receivers to the Super Bowl while heading up one of the league's most high-powered offenses in recent memory, but the lack of protection would come back to haunt the Carolina Panthers.
Newton’s career in Carolina was littered with terrible offensive line play, mainly at the tackle positions. Who can forget right tackle Mike Remmers being turned into a human turnstile by Vonn Miller as the Panthers lost Super Bowl 50?
The hits Newton took throughout his electric career saw his body slowly break down, leaving him out of the league in 2023.
The same issues Newton faced we are already seeing for rookie Bryce Young. Trading away D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears as part of the package that landed the No. 1 pick was pure malpractice in hindsight.
Drafting a quarterback after trading the team's only top wideout is crazy for any organization. What has transpired since is the league’s most unwatchable offense.
Whoever thought going into the season with a 33-year-old Adam Thielen as the team's WR1 deserves to lose their job. Young is working behind a failing offensive line that can’t block, a non-existent run game, and a skill position group that cannot separate.
Thielen is the only one providing a consistent pass-catching presence. One can only hope Young is better equipped to succeed moving forward than Newton was.