Which Carolina Panthers news stories are hitting the headlines as the 2023 regular season finally gets underway this evening?
After a long few months, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions get the NFL's 2023 regular season underway with the national spotlight glaring tonight. For the Carolina Panthers, there are distractions and worries aplenty heading into their Week 1 road contest against the Atlanta Falcons.
This is obviously bringing a plethora of headlines in the regional and national media. Among the stories causing debate include injuries stacking up, Carolina's captains for the 2023 season, Bryce Young taking everything in his stride, and a bar is finally set in the Brian Burns contract saga.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Carolina Panthers name team captains
After much deliberation, the Carolina Panthers finally announced their captains for the upcoming campaign. There weren't many surprises truth be told, although cornerback Donte Jackson no longer has that distinction in favor of others.
Here is the full list of team captains in 2023:
- Adam Thielen (WR)
- Bryce Young (QB)
- Brian Burns (OLB)
- Shaq Thompson (LB)
- Taylor Moton (OT)
- Johnny Hekker (P)
🫡🫡🫡 pic.twitter.com/SinsApW9Kq
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 6, 2023
These men will officially lead the way with Cs on their chests. But for the Panthers to truly make progress in the coming months, every player must be a leader in some capacity.
Some are vocal, some lead by example, and others like to focus on doing their job and lean on others. This is all part of the locker room dynamic around the league, but the Panthers do appear to have a nice blend of youth and experience to call upon in 2023.
Four WRs land on Carolina Panthers injury report
There were already concerns about the Carolina Panthers wide receiver room after including D.J. Moore in the trade package that landed the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. But after looking at the team's first injury report heading into Sunday's game at the Atlanta Falcons, these have grown.
No fewer than four wideouts found their way onto the injury report, which is deeply concerning all things considered. D.J. Chark didn't participate due to his ongoing hamstring problem, although the veteran declared last week that he should be ready to go barring any further complications.
Terrace Marshall Jr. is in the same boat. The former second-round selection's been missing for weeks due to a back issue and was limited during Wednesday's practice, but recently acquired playmaker Ihmir Smith-Marsette was listed as a full participant despite working his way through an ankle issue.
Perhaps the most surprising name on the report was veteran Adam Thielen, who was limited with an ankle difficulty. Hopefully, this is nothing more than a precautionary measure, because it would be nothing short of disastrous if he was to miss Carolina's regular-season opener.
We'll know more about these specific individuals and their respective statuses as the week goes on. But it's something worth monitoring and could result in Bryce Young being without some key weapons on his NFL debut.
Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young's focus
Excitement and expectations are growing ahead of Bryce Young's regular season NFL debut this weekend. The quarterback left the best possible impression throughout the summer, fitting in seamlessly into the Carolina Panthers, picking up the offensive system with aplomb, and displaying the elite-level traits that convinced those in power to make their daring move to No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Everyone is so keen to focus on what could emerge way into the future where Young is concerned. One could forgive the former Alabama star for getting carried away, but his attention is firmly set on taking things one game at a time based on the player's comments via Carolina's website.
"I'm really just thinking about Atlanta. I think in the long term, that's going to be up to God, and that's out of my hands. Stuff that happens in the long term, and when you look back at whatever it may be, and big picture stuff, it happened because of the accumulation of small things and day-to-day things. So for me, I'm not thinking about the long term; I'm not thinking about perspective. I'm not thinking about down the line."Bryce Young via Panthers.com
This is the Panthers' big play at the position. If it doesn't work out for whatever reason, serious questions will be asked of ownership and the front office, who haven't exactly covered themselves in glory this week thanks to their ongoing reluctance to pay Brian Burns the going rate.
Which brings us to our next point…
Carolina Panthers get measuring stick for Brian Burns deal
Brian Burns hitting the practice field on Wednesday came with an enormous sense of relief from fans. However, no new deal has been confirmed as yet as the Carolina Panthers try to slow-play things with their best all-around weapon.
This is causing unnecessary distractions during game week and coming with some criticism from sections of the fanbase who want this situation resolved. A recent development elsewhere also means the Panthers have no more excuses not to work something out.
Nick Bosa's long-running saga with the San Francisco 49ers finally came to a satisfactory conclusion. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year penned a whopping extension that works out at around $34 million per season - something that represents a new measuring stick for players like Burns as part of their own negotiations.
The Panthers lost all their leverage from the moment they turned down a mammoth trade offer from the Los Angeles Rams. Leaving the extension this long is costing them more, but head coach Frank Reich once again praised the former Florida State star via Carolina's website for putting the team first amid all the proverbial chaos.
"I've been a part of a lot of different situations as a player and as a coach. I'm just interested in what's best for the team and for the player; I think those things can both be true. You understand both sides of the equation. That's how I feel. To Brian's credit, he hasn't made himself a distraction. I respect him a lot for the way he's handled that. He's done everything he can to not make himself a distraction to this team. And that's just evidence to the kind of leader he is."Frank Reich via Panthers.com
If something doesn't get resolved over the next couple of days, we have a real problem. Burns clearly doesn't want to sit out, but his good faith in the franchise hasn't been reciprocated as yet, which is really disappointing.