frankw

I said all along what Rico Dowdle was doing was unsustainable. Plenty of RB's have flashed big numbers and then fallen off. It's the nature of the position now. But let's not get crazy here. At the end of the day there is unequivocally no postseason without Rico Dowdle. Bryce Young led the Panthers to a 4-6 finish was swept by the Saints and split with an at the time imploding Bucs team. We really are not in a position to talk about anyone else shrinking under bright lights. We're still waiting to see our #1 pick open the regular season not playing horribly.

Bryce at 31 seems harsh on the surface but everything they were saying was honest and realistic about his passing production and Simms specifically mentioned his lack of ability to utilize the middle of the field and they both acknowledged 75% of his starts last year were under 200 passing yards. If random fans here on the huddle and sports analysts can see it then every defense in the league knows it after 46 games. Simple truth.

Highest amount of OL salary cap in the league too. The Chiefs are behind us at 2 but we are ahead of them by a cool $23 million. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/position/offensive-line/_/year/2026/table/active/sort/cap_total

This is true. And the fact of the matter is the second injury was entirely noncontact. That in itself is a major issue in terms of the will he or won't he talk regarding on if he will ever be able to establish any semblance of longevity in relation to an NFL career.

They horribly misspelled Rico Dowdle.

On the one hand I do feel like it will only be a matter of time before Rasheed Walker receives his share of criticism from Panthers fans. But we don't need any excuses this season. Keep the highest paid OL in the league intact and await the end result.

"Guys 2023 wasn't fair let's just pretend it didn't happen and give Bryce Young a pass for one of the worst rookie seasons in at least a quarter century". "Let's also pretend Bryce Young didn't start each season his first 3 years in the league playing like one of the worst Panthers QB's in franchise history". "Did you know Cam Newton had a down year in 2014? And we'll just completely disregard his record setting first 3 seasons in the league so that clearly means Bryce Young is actually good".

If there is a double standard at play here it is you picking a down year and selectively ignoring 2011 2012 and 2013 to denigrate the only MVP in franchise history because you want to carry water for a #1 pick who indisputably moves the ball at a historically low rate. Lower than Blaine Gabbert. In 2014 Newton in a down year where the Panthers had the 25th highest paid OL in the league and Byron Bell at left tackle he accumulated 3,666 all purpose yards 23 touchdowns 12 interceptions and 1 lost fumble Bryce's best statistical season to date where the Panthers had the highest paid offensive line in the entire league he accumulated 3,227 all purpose yards 25 touchdowns 11 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles Why is Cam Newton's floor more than acceptable for a #1 pick whose representatives in his fourth season in the league will be looking for him to be paid like a top 10 QB?

In terms of the possibility of Bryce Young following Sam Darnold's career arc to this point think of the movie Big with Tom Hanks. That's basically what would have to happen. Unfortunately we don't exist within a feel good fantasy film universe.

It should not be about his accomplishments alone such as winning the division or making the playoffs because we just did that and we needed help from the Failcons of all teams while getting swept by the Saints and a rookie 2nd round QB. If he can navigate a statistical top 12 QB season in key statistical metrics and we often win because of his contributions and not in spite of them then it should be under heavy consideration and negotiation. Even then though the situation has to be assessed logically knowing that tying up top 10-12 QB salary for a team that already has had the highest paid OL in the league two years in a row is not a sustainable long term approach whatsoever and going forward it will only be more crucial as his career progresses that he is able to elevate the sum of the moving parts around him rather than being wholly dependent on them the majority of the time.

Welp the Pistons are back on the couch with us. Blown out in game 7.

His representatives would be pushing for at least Daniel Jones money as a starting point in negotiations. Which if you are someone operating with functional brain cells would be a HARD PASS.

Malik Willis is making $22 million a year which is good for 16th in the league. No way in hell should we pay Bryce Young top 10 QB money unless he is actually walking on water.

I generally felt even our decision makers weren't foolish enough to actually do this. That would end up being an all time blunder that would follow everyone in the front office for the rest of their careers. However we stil can't put it past them to jump the gun and begin negotiations late in the year if he has a couple of really good games while looking serviceable at best in others while the rest of the roster carries him. The concern remains that in their eyes "deserving" a contract extension means just not looking outright terrible.

Quite a few people argued we way overpaid high end starter money for a guy that was basically a capable backup at best. It was a bad move facilitated by a need to save face after missing out on Williams. It is what it is man. We aren't being paid to carry Dan Morgan's water. It'll be alright.