Panthers news: Dave Canales, Bryce Young, Ikem Ekwonu and ticket hike
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers to keep Ikem Ekwonu at LT
It was a sophomore campaign to forget for Ikem Ekwonu. The left tackle failed to build on a promising first season with the Carolina Panthers. He was overwhelmed on the blindside, giving up countless pressures, 11 sacks, and 12 penalties throughout a torrid year.
This has led many fans to wonder whether Ekwonu's physical gifts might be better suited to the interior. While additional competition is coming this offseason, general manager Dan Morgan stated that the former first-round pick out of North Carolina State will continue as the team's left tackle heading into a critical Year 3 of his professional career based on comments via the team's website.
"I think it's pretty evident that our offensive line struggled at times last year. We've got to get better in that area, and we're going to do everything in our power to make that happen. I think he's only going to get better and better. And I think when you bring the right coaches in, that maybe can help him out and get him better, I think that I'm confident in that. Ickey's motivated to be better. He's hungry. I've had multiple talks with him on different occasions, and he's hungry to get better and be one of the better left tackles in the league."
- Dan Morgan via Panthers.com
Ekwonu has a lot of hard work ahead in pursuit of bouncing back. There are some significant technical flaws to improve - especially when going up against speedier edge rushers. Perhaps a new set of coaching methods will help, but there's just no telling for sure looking at how things unfolded last season.