Panthers News: Bryce Young, Josh McCown, Tommy Tremble and defense ranked

Carolina Panthers lay down gauntlet to Tommy Tremble

Year 3 is normally the time we get a solid measuring stick about what a player can potentially bring long-term. Something that could go either way for Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble heading into the 2023 season.

Tremble was a third-round pick in 2021 that's demonstrated brief glimpses of productivity. Age might be on his side for now, but that doesn't detract from how important the upcoming campaign is for the one-time Notre Dame standout.

This coaching staff has no emotional attachment to Tremble. But tight ends coach John Lilly stated via Sports Illustrated that the time to step up and carve out a bigger role for himself has firmly arrived.

"One big thing with Tommy is, he entered the league at 20 years old. So, he's got two years in the league and he's still just 22 right now. He's still a young player. You look at most of the guys that were drafted, they are older right now than what he is. I think it's time for him to take another step. He made a great decision in the offseason and he stayed here, he trained all offseason. I've been very impressed with just the way he's approached the day-to-day and try to pick it all up and go take it to the field."

- John Lilly via Sports Illustrated

Whether Tremble can accomplish this remains to be seen. The Panthers signed Hayden Hurst to be their No. 1 tight end and Ian Thomas' blocking is useful, so there is a lot of hard work ahead for the player despite his impressive athletic intangibles.