WarPanthers89

Yes I would be. RB is much easier to fill in later rounds. We need DE, DT, LB, S, G, WR, TE over any RB pick especially trading up….

He is not calling plays man.

I don’t believe teams look at a player on a one game basis. The guy is 24 years old, improves tackles and sacks every year, and potential to keep getting better and better. He’s already a pro bowl player and had 17 tackles for loss with……..who else to game plan for at the other DE position? All while switching defensive schemes what seems like year after year. If you are the opposing team do you ever double any other DE on our team?

What exactly did Burns do to lower his value? Lol

It did mention the team casting a wide net and having to comply with interviewing two minority candidates

Says who?

Agreed but I wouldn’t worry too much. I believe Reich calls plays if Cooter is hired as OC

I cut out the updates on staff hiring from the article and listed what they had to say about where we are with our OC role. ARTICLE: The Panthers moved quickly last weekend to hire Evero, the former Broncos-defensive coordinator who also was being pursued by Minnesota. The slower pace of the offensive coordinator search — and the paucity of news about it — suggests Reich could be waiting for Eagles quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. Many in league circles believe Philadelphia offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who interviewed for the Panthers’ head-coaching vacancy, will be the Colts’ next coach. If that happens, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni likely will promote Johnson to offensive coordinator. Johnson’s work with Jalen Hurts makes him attractive to a team like the Panthers, who may finally draft a top-10 quarterback this year. But if Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon gets the Cardinals’ job, he almost certainly would try to take Johnson with him to coach Kyler Murray. So who are Reich’s other options? Keep an eye on Jacksonville pass-game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who quietly interviewed for the Panthers’ OC job this week, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting. Cooter was a young Colts assistant with Reich from 2009 to 2011, and the two have remained close. The 38-year-old Cooter was Detroit’s offensive coordinator from 2015 to 2018, including three years calling plays for Jim Caldwell. Cooter’s offenses were characterized by a lot of passing and not much in the way of a run game. The Lions ranked ninth, 11th and sixth in passing offense in Cooter’s first three seasons but were 32nd, 30th and 32nd in rushing over the same span. Cooter’s game plans resulted in 1,000-yard receiving seasons for Golden Tate and Marvin Jones, but Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford took a beating. Stafford was sacked an average of 42 times while Cooter was the Lions’ offensive coordinator, including a career-high 47 in 2017. Cooter appears to be Reich’s fallback option if Johnson doesn’t pan out. If Cooter were the first choice, Reich could have hired him before the Super Bowl. But Reich is expected to cast a wide net. It’s worth noting: The Panthers must interview two minority candidates for the coordinator’s post to satisfy Rooney Rule requirements. What remains to be seen is whether Reich will continue to call the offensive plays, as he did during his five-year stint in Indianapolis. At his introductory news conference, the 61-year-old Reich said he would be open to letting someone else call the offense. If the Panthers hope to have any shot of hiring Johnson, Reich would have to offer him the play-calling responsibilities. “I’ve always enjoyed doing that (and) feel like I’ve had a good bit of success doing that,” Reich said. “Feels to me there’s a little bit of a trend going away from that. I want to continue to re-examine that. It just depends on how the staff comes together and the coordinator thing. “I’m excited about the prospects on some of the guys that are out there that could be our offensive coordinator,” he said. “I’ll wait to make the final decision on that.” He’s apparently going to wait until at least Monday, when things could start to unfold quickly — in Charlotte and around the league.

The second our rookie QB makes a mistake and throws an INT, Josh McClown will be trending on this board. That is a promise.

I vote for a QB selection in every round. Go into camp with 8 QBs and pray one works out so that we can build around a QB on a rookie wage scale.

That’s the golden question for the last 15 years or more

Good for Wilks. I will always appreciate his leadership and ability to bring the culture back to BOA after the clown left us officially.

Who keep this man on the payroll??????

Tepper pulled out that fat wallet to make it happen. I bet he is one of the highest paid in the league

Agree but I’d almost lean towards extending him for a year or two. He’s a captain, and vocal leader on the defense, we have no one else at LB other than Luvu, and Shaq should still perform at a high level for the next couple years.

I thought this note was interesting under Thomas. I would LOVE to get a QB and sign Schultz: “But with Dalton Schultz and Evan Engram highlighting a talented group of tight ends in free agency, maybe the Panthers cut ties with Thomas with a post-June 1 designation to spread out the dead money. Reich told Charlotte sports-talk station WFNZ on Wednesday he’s already heard from Eric Ebron. The former UNC tight end went to the Pro Bowl under Reich with the Colts in 2018, but was out of the league last season after an ankle injury ended his 2021 season early in Pittsburgh.”

Great article on the athletic posted today which covered a few points from Joe person. It’s starts by giving an update to the salary cap space in the NFC south ($224.8 million) 1st: Falcons at $56.4 million dollars 2nd: Panthers at negative $9.5 million 3rd: Tampa Bay at negative $55.7 million 4th Saints at negative $57.4 million. The panthers have 18 of 22 starters under contract with only Bozeman, Foreman, Sam Darnold, and Matt Loannidis set to become free agents. ARTICLE: The Athletic looks at some of the possible moves the Panthers can make to create cap room ahead of Frank Reich’s first free agency with general manager Scott Fitterer in Charlotte. (All cap figures via Spotrac.) Potential cap casualties LB Shaq Thompson Age: 28 Cap savings: $13.2 million Dead money: $11.3 million Thompson was still effective during his age-27 season, finishing with a career-best 135 tackles, which put him among the top 15 among all NFL defenders. Thompson also was durable, playing a full season for just the second time in his career despite an offseason knee procedure. The Panthers have restructured Thompson’s contract twice since Marty Hurney signed him to an extension in 2019. By kicking the can, Thompson now carries a $24.46 million cap number in the final year of his deal. That’s just behind Moore ($25 million) and Moton ($24.54 million), whose contracts could be reworked in simple restructures for cap purposes. Other than the ascending Frankie Luvu, the Panthers’ linebacker corps is lean and would need reinforcing. But considering this move alone would get the Panthers below the cap, Thompson seems like a logical cut. G/C Pat Elflein Age: 28 Cap savings: $4.3 million Dead money: $2.8 million Elflein and Cam Erving were low-tier, offensive line additions in 2021 who didn’t quite pan out. Elflein started the first six games at center this past season before undergoing season-ending hip surgery. Bozeman replaced him and was a big part of the Panthers’ success on the ground, despite the trade of Christian McCaffreyto San Francisco. Bozeman is arguably the top priority among the Panthers’ own free agents and has said he’d like to stay in Charlotte. Either way, Elflein’s Panthers’ stint is likely done. LB Damien Wilson Age: 29 Cap savings: $3.6 million Dead money: $1.1 million Wilson, who turns 30 in May, signed a two-year, $6.9 million contract last offseason with the hopes of bolstering the middle of the Panthers’ defense. The former fourth-round draft pick started five of the first seven games and had a season-high nine tackles in a Week 5 loss to San Francisco. But Wilson became an afterthought after Steve Wilks took over, playing a total of four defensive snaps over the final eight games. As mentioned above, the Panthers aren’t exactly brimming with talent at linebacker, though they’re still hopeful Brandon Smith can turn his traits into production in his second year. Still, it makes more sense for Reich and his defensive staff to bring in guys who fit their system than to keep an aging player such as Wilson. K Zane Gonzalez Age: 27 Cap savings: $1.5 million Dead money: $625,000 Gonzalez ended 2021 on injured reserve after injuring his quad warming up on a slick field in Buffalo, then began 2022 on IR when he tore his groin kicking into the net during the final preseason game against Buffalo. In between, the Panthers signed Gonzalez to a two-year, $4.5 million contract after watching him make 17 field goals in a row before his injury against the Bills. But while Gonzalez rehabbed following groin surgery, Eddy Pineiro proved to be a capable replacement. After missing two game-winning kicks at Atlanta, Pineiro made his last 19 field goals in a row — including the game-winner in Week 18 at New Orleans — and finished No. 2 in the league in field goal percentage (94.3) among qualified kickers. Pineiro is eligible for free agency. But given his ties to special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who was retained by Reich, expect the Panthers to stick with Pineiro in 2023. Possible surprise cut TE Ian Thomas Age: 25 Cap savings: $3.1 million (post-June 1 designation) Dead money: $3.6 million in 2023; $1.7 million in 2024 Reich’s offense features the tight ends prominently in the passing game, with Reich saying he likes the matchups he can create at the position. Thomas is a physical, reliable blocker, but he has never developed as a pass catcher. Thomas just signed a three-year, $16.95 million deal last offseason, and the dead money would be reduced if they hold on to him another year. But with Dalton Schultz and Evan Engram highlighting a talented group of tight ends in free agency, maybe the Panthers cut ties with Thomas with a post-June 1 designation to spread out the dead money. Reich told Charlotte sports-talk station WFNZ on Wednesday he’s already heard from Eric Ebron. The former UNC tight end went to the Pro Bowl under Reich with the Colts in 2018, but was out of the league last season after an ankle injury ended his 2021 season early in Pittsburgh. Extension candidate DE Brian Burns Age: 24 Cap number: $16 million The Panthers would like to get a deal done with Burns after the edge rusher earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth. Burns bulked up last offseason, which helped him improve as a run defender and allowed him to add the occasional bull rush to his pass-rush arsenal. Burns is still young (he turns 25 in April) and is coming off a season in which he notched a career-high 12 1/2 sacks. He will seek an extension that puts him among the game’s highest-paid edge rushers. Spotrac projects a four-year deal for Burns, with an average annual value of $18.3 million.If the Panthers and Burns can’t come to an agreement, they can let him play out his option year at $16 million and try to extend him during or after the season. But then they run the risk of having Burns test free agency. Fitterer locked up Moore early last offseason, and the hope is he can do the same with Burns.

I know we desperately want to..as do most us fans but we have a ton of teams ahead of us needing a QB and it may not play out that way. I don’t think I would be upset if we used our 6 picks in the first 4 rounds to get WR, TE, LB, DE, DT, and or C/G help (for Corbett injury) to go along with Jimmy. I think we easily won the division with that combo of the rookie QB does not pan out

Thoughts on him being a starter for us if we didn’t draft a QB? No trading draft picks, solid starter, and could use all of our draft picks to really build the team with picks in round one, two in round two, round three, two in round four and round 5. CMC was a huge Jimmy G Stan as well and really praised his work and leadership skills. For the record I want to draft a QB more than anything, but he would not be a bad option being that the cap is going up and we would not have to trade draft capital. ARTICLE: The 49ers don’t know who their starting quarterback will be in 2023, but they know who it won’t be. Coach Kyle Shanahan ruled out Jimmy Garoppolo‘s return. “No, I don’t see any scenario of that,” Shanahan said, via video from the team. Garoppolo is scheduled for free agency in March. The 49ers were close to trading Garoppolo last offseason before the quarterback’s shoulder surgery brought talks to a grinding halt. Garoppolo ended up starting 10 games after Trey Lance was injured but saw his own season ended with a fractured foot in Week 13. Rookie Brock Purdy finished up the year but tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow Sunday in the NFC Championship game. If Purdy does not undergo a full reconstruction (Tommy John surgery), then he is expected back in six months. “He’s continuing to go through that process [of second opinions],” 49ers General Manager John Lynch said. “I think the positive bit of news is that it seems to be consistent that the right approach is that one that’s about that six-month one. Now, everybody will also say you never know until you get in there. Every surgeon will tell you that on every surgery. . . . They’re continuing to work through that process, but we seem encouraged by the prognosis.” If the 49ers have Purdy back in six months, along with a healthy Lance, they will not seek a veteran starter. “No, we’re content enough,” Shanahan said. “I know we have two starters on our team right now that I believe we can win with. So when you have that situation, you’re not that eager to go looking around.” https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/02/01/kyle-shanahan-doesnt-see-any-scenario-where-jimmy-garoppolo-returns/