7 Carolina Panthers veterans on the roster bubble entering 2024 camp

Rashaad Penny - Carolina Panthers RB

There is fierce competition for places in the running back room. The Carolina Panthers plan to run the football heavily under new head coach Dave Canales. He's got the personnel to achieve this objective successfully after a busy offseason in the front office.

The Panthers had Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders as holdovers from the previous campaign. Raheem Blackshear penned a one-year extension. Carolina also traded up to No. 46 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft for Jonathon Brooks, who looks set to play a major role once he returns from the active/non-football injury list.

Canales also signed Rashaad Penny. The pair know each other well following a profitable stint with the Seattle Seahawks. He's endured some rough luck on the injury front of late, but the former first-round selection is physical and explosive - something the Panthers are looking to establish with their progressive young coach leading the charge.

Penny faces a fight to make the team - especially if Brooks participates at some stage during camp. He's got experience on his side and should be fresh, so he's someone worth monitoring closely when things get more intense in Charlotte.

LaBryan Ray - Carolina Panthers DL

Ejiro Evero's defense needs to step up and maintain some semblance of consistency despite losing several established stars this offseason. The Panthers opted to transfer their significant investment to the offensive side of the football. This should assist quarterback Bryce Young, but it raises the stakes for the promising coordinator as he looks to attain a head coaching gig in 2025.

The defensive front looks strong - a solid platform from which to build. Derrick Brown, A'Shawn Robinson, and Shy Tuttle could become productive. Everything else on the depth chart is up for grabs.

LaBryan Ray got more reps than initially anticipated last season. The former Alabama star started one game and featured in 34 percent of Carolina's defensive snaps. His performances were decent enough, but they needed to be better to guarantee his roster status in 2024.

Ray must build on this newfound momentum and display the correct work ethic over Carolina's camp. Beating out the likes of Nick Thurman, T.J. Smith, Raequan Williams, and sixth-round selection Jaden Crumedy is essential to secure his status on the 53-man roster.