Tommy Tremble and 4 Panthers on the hot seat entering Week 13 vs. Buccaneers

Not many three-win teams at this stage of an NFL season have anything positive to hang their hat on. That's not the case with the Carolina Panthers, who've recovered from a torrid start to put a consistent run of good performances together.

For a team that's endured nothing but misery throughout David Tepper's ownership, this is encouraging. There is a lot of hard work ahead both during the season and when the 2025 recruitment period begins. However, fans are starting to believe that the billionaire hedge fund manager finally has the right people running the football operation.

Nobody is getting ahead of themselves just yet. The Panthers are still languishing among the bottom feeders with a top-five draft pick in 2025. But after taking the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to the limit, head coach Dave Canales' men have nothing to fear.

Keeping this up is the biggest challenge. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still harbor hopes of winning the NFC South and making the postseason. They won't want to fall short versus a Carolina team they've done well against more often than not in recent years.

The pressure is on as the Panthers look to play spoiler versus a division rival. With this in mind, here are five Carolina players firmly on the hot seat entering Week 13 at Bank of America Stadium.

Carolina Panthers players on the hot seat entering Week 13 vs. Buccaneers

Tommy Tremble - Carolina Panthers TE

Ja'Tavion Sanders suffered a vicious hit in Week 12 that resulted in lengthy treatment and a trip to the hospital. The prognosis surrounding the rookie tight end's neck issue is encouraging, but head coach Dave Canales revealed this week that he won't feature versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This puts Tommy Tremble firmly under the microscope. The former third-round pick has endured a rough season so far. Injuries and poor performance mean his future with the franchise beyond 2024 is in serious doubt. He'll get a good chance to change this narrative as the featured tight-end option in this one.

There is a big enough sample size to suggest Tremble cannot be trusted in the passing game. He was guilty of dropping a touchdown strike from Bryce Young against the Kansas City Chiefs and his early development was severely mismanaged by previous regimes for good measure.

Tremble isn't looking for excuses. But if he doesn't pass this latest audition with flying colors, it's hard to envisage a scenario where he'll be part of the team's plans next season.