4 overlooked storylines to watch at Carolina Panthers 2024 camp
Carolina Panthers' center gamble
Alignment is a big reason for why the Carolina Panthers offensive line looks like it does now compared to a season ago.
Austin Corbett missed most of the 2023 season with two separate knee injuries and unintentionally caused a spinning carousel of starters at right and left guard. Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan want to win games in the trenches and on the ground. They put their plan into action by signing Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt to solidify both guard spots.
With Bradley Bozeman signing with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, the Panthers decided to move Corbett to the center spot instead of allowing him to explore other options in free agency or the early release market. He received rave reviews from Canales during off-season training activities. That does ease the uneasiness of a quality starting guard moving over to a position he has never played prominently in the pros.
Corbett’s situation is fascinating. The former Cleveland Browns 2018 second-round selection is entering the final season of his three-year, $26.25 million contract and is changing positions in his prime. Though talented, it cannot be seen as anything other than a big gamble by the Panthers until proven otherwise.
He’s certainly an intelligent football player. Corbett displays good physicality and technician ability as a guard. He also offers the prototypical size for a center. Odds are that the Nevada product will become a steady presence at the spot, but that’s speaking more from an optimistic point of view.
The Panthers have just one true center on their roster, undrafted free agent Andrew Raym. The likely backup to Corbett is depth player and swing tackle Brady Christensen, who is capable of playing all five spots on the offensive line.
We won’t know how any of them will fare until we see them working in tandem with their other four offensive line teammates in training camp, preseason, and regular season games. Watch this space.