7 Carolina Panthers players on the hot seat at 2024 training camp
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers already have coaches and rookies in the building for training camp. They'll be joined by established veterans in the coming days ahead of their first official practice. Not being in the stifling heat of Wofford College in Spartanburg is welcome, but the temperature should be high for most looking to make their presence felt under the new regime.
Dave Canales has a clear vision for the future. He wants the Panthers to be a fundamentally sound, competitive football team. He wants players who are fully bought in and who'll keep the same mentality through good times and bad. That's the only way he believes the NFL's current laughingstock gets back to some semblance of respectability.
This injection of purpose and enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air. Players responded accordingly over early workouts and have renewed confidence. If everything comes together in the coming weeks before their regular-season opener at the New Orleans Saints, the better their chances will be.
For some, the stakes couldn't be higher. With this in mind, here are seven Panthers players who are firmly on the hot seat entering Carolina's first-ever training camp in Charlotte.
Jaycee Horn - Carolina Panthers CB
This is it for Jaycee Horn. The cornerback suffered more injury woes in 2023, which takes his tally to just 22 games in three seasons. The same cannot happen again if the Carolina Panthers want to make strides under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Horn is one of the league's best shutdown corners when healthy. Dependability means he's seldom spoken among the elite. The Panthers picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, but that takes nothing away from how important the upcoming campaign is for his long-term aspirations.
The former first-round pick out of South Carolina needs a clear run of health. He needs to set the tone within a cornerback room that comes with major potential complications. Horn also needs to firmly establish himself as a dependable presence others can look to for inspiration on and off the field.
This starts by showing out during Carolina's training camp. If everything goes well, better days could be ahead for a player with every athletic intangible needed to reach superstardom.