Seltzer

Big Vern is tearing up the G-League, which ends this weekend. The 20-year-old is now averaging 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds over 26.5 minutes per game this season. Arguably one of if not the best players in the G League this year, and definitely the best Center, which is obviously the Hornets most glaring need. How quickly does JB bring him into the rotation? Bismack is tough to watch at this point (with almost no offense and subpar defense at this point), and you can almost bank on Cody not being available for about 1/3 of your games. I'm hoping Big Vern gets playing time as soon as next Thursday against the Pistons. Even if he is not as good defensively to start out, he will instantly be a boost on the offensive end. I want to see the Hornets in the playoffs, but Borrego needs to see what both Vernon Carey and Nick Richards can bring over the 2nd Half in terms of how to address the Center position and/or add frontcourt depth. Both Bismack and Cody are free agents after the season, and it seems unlikely either will be back. The Hornets are incredibly fun to watch, but we are a dominant center away from being able to compete against the Big 3 in the East (Nets, Sixers, Bucks). I'm sure this is what is driving interest in Nikola Vucevic (obviously the Celtics are thinking the same thing). I personally would rather see the Hornets continue to develop the core this year without giving up assets (everything in the East up to the 4 Seed which would ensure a home playoff game is still obtainable), but Center is the question going forward. If Big Vern could become a starter-quality center or more, this draft would be an all-time NBA great along with Lamelo. I'm excited to see what the Hornets do over the 2nd Half. Mitch Kupchak already should be considered a favorite for GM of the year for Lamelo, and it Big Vern starts to contribute, he should be a lock. It has been a long, long time since I have been this excited as a Hornets fan. If we can solve the Center question, the Hornets can truly become a force in the East for the first time in almost 30 years.

https://www.vikings.com/news/kyle-rudolph-released-contract-terminated Definitely an upgrade over any TE's we currently have

I like Tepper's willingness to search for any advantage available However, with that many on-field assistants, there should never, ever be an issue with a play coming in late, right?

I have no expectations, but I hope he can come back and be a nice rotational piece like Haynes, who quietly had a nice season. Haynes played in 15 games in 2020, ranking third on the team with 4.0 sacks while tying for the team lead with two fumble recoveries. If Burns & YGM can both be starter caliber players (Burns already is), then I think guys like Haynes, Obada (who can also play inside) and Miller form a pretty good group, especially if we find another starter to go along Derrick Brown with Kerr and Roy providing depth. It's certainly a better collection (especially when you consider how young we are and the potential upside) than any group since 2017. I'm also interested to see how Snow can use Miller in a hybrid role in the same vein as Chinn. It's nice to have a lot of young talent, we just need to figure out how to make it all work well together. I was certainly impressed with the chicken salad Snow was able to make last year, all things considered

Literally any draft compensation would be found money. It would be a boon to the Panthers to find someone to take on his contract and let us off the hook, regardless

This is the correct answer

Outlandishly disrespectful... Quarterbacks (and all players) are fair game for criticism online and in the media... that is addressing them in their professional capacity and it comes with the job and the large paycheck. Addressing anyone like that in their personal capacity is over the line. This kid obviously wants to be internet famous. In the immortal words of Iron Mike, “Social media made you all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”

You need to look at his actual pressure rate, which is near the top of the league. Burns played at a Pro-Bowl level this year in spite of a lot of double teams, chipping, etc. He was absolutely snubbed. Other than Shaq Barrett, there is no one else in the NFC South that is comparable to Burns as a pass rusher, especially since Cam Jordan seems to be in decline. I want Watson, but the idea that giving up Burns isn't a big deal is absurd. He's one of the most talented players on the Panthers roster, and he hasn't even hit his prime yet. Burns will be a double-digit sack guy year-in and year-out if he has consistent help on the line. Those guys don't grow on trees, and the only way I would consider trading him would be a situation like with Watson. He might not be valuable in your eyes, but every GM & coach in the league would take Burns tomorrow.

We can make plenty of cap for the right person. The issue is not spending on guys we're going to regret after a year like Teddy, Matt Kalil, etc. Anybody who watched a Steelers game down the stretch knows Big Ben is washed, way more than Cam even. We need a QB, but hard, hard pass on Big Ben. He still has an arm, but he's been hit too many times and makes awful decisions at this point to keep from getting hit. I don't blame him for not wanting to get hit as someone approaching 40 myself, but he needs to retire.

I'm old enough to remember the Carolina Growl days... And yes, while the discourse here sucks sometimes, this board definitely isn't as hostile as in the past. I can remember "Fire Hurney" threads as early as 2006. Who knew then we were going to get 15 years worth of those threads? I'm willing to bet if some analysis was done, threads calling for Hurney's dismissal constitute the most popular threads in the illustrious history of the Huddle

Exactly... hard pass... I'd seriously rather just roll with Teddy and build the team and be back in the QB market next year. I'll be the first to admit if I'm wrong, but there's no way to me Jones is an upgrade

I feel like we will to get rid of Teddy and ask for a 2nd in return, will probably only get 3rd if it actually goes through. Needing to dump Teddy will drive up the price we have to pay

Very true. Supposedly Stafford's top 2 choices are the Rams and Niners but they don't or won't spend the draft capital. Outside of that, he wants to be somewhere warm. So I guess that's good for us if you wanted him.

My feeling exactly.

The Philly media is going to tear him to shreds...

This... and I wanted Teddy to succeed b/c he was the Panthers QB. He honestly looked like he could be the answer the 1st half of the season. The 2nd half was truthfully no better than what Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, etc. could provide. Honestly, Heinicke probably would have beaten Teddy had he been the starter the whole game instead of Haskins. Teddy had more weapons last year than Cam ever had here, and also had an offensive line, that while not great, certainly wasn't as bad as many of the ones we "protected" Cam with. They picked Teddy b/c he knew the system. And Teddy wasn't awful for the most part by any stretch. But the truth is, and Rhule knows this along with most fans, QB's are ultimately judged by wins and losses, and for their ability to make it happen when the game is on the line. Teddy had chances in the majority of games we played, and he couldn't do it. He was the anthesis of clutch in many respects- in many ways the anti-Jake Jake was not perfect, but it always seemed like before he messed up his elbow that he played his best in the 4th with the game on the line. Jake could be shaky, but you had a confidence he could pull it together when it mattered. Teddy really is the exact opposite. He played his best ball when the game wasn't on the line. I truly believe Teddy could be a playoff QB if we built around him and things generally went well. But Teddy doesn't appear able to elevate the team, and he certainly doesn't look like a QB we can win a SB with. Tepper & Rhule don't want to be stuck with a guy like that

True... off the top of my head Colts jump out as making the most sense. Lions have to be happy with the compensation though and that's where we might have advantage if we offer more

Oh Wee Mayne... JPP & Barrett are going to have a field day

It's the offseason... if you got something better to post let's see it... it's fun speculation after a disappointing year...

My guess is 4, and maybe 5 depending on how the season goes and if we get flexed. Potentially both matchups with Brady, the new 17th game which will be against the Texans, any of the NFC East matchups, and the Bills game would be prime targets I think. With Teddy it's almost assuredly going to be the 1 TNF matchup (unless there are more time slots ala Covid this year). This is why almost no price is too high to get Watson. It instantly makes the Panthers nationally relevant again and will for years to come. And ultimately, we're not going to win a Super Bowl without a franchise guy like Watson. I am not going to get my hopes up too much b/c it is still way more likely than not he doesn't end up here, but in the interest of discussion it's a nice theoretical question to answer after we have spent the past 3 seasons in irrelevancy.

I heard there was tension in the room during the interview and that Tepper liked that. Tepper is no idiot. He needs people that will give it to him straight and aren't afraid of disagreement/conflict as long as it can be productive.

Moore, Burns, Chinn, Brown, Jackson, Kerr, Obada Carter, & Daley are all good players (starter-caliber) that will still be on rookie deals next year (or in Kerr's case a very team-friendly deal). Look around the league- that's pretty good honestly. It's easy to crap on the mistakes your team makes b/c they are self-evident, but the Panthers are in much better shape this year than last, from a roster and salary-cap standpoint. The Panthers were in perhaps the toughest spot in the league going into this year. I'm sold on Rhule. Rhule knows though that the NFL is different than college in that the QB question dwarfs anything else. Solidifying the QB position is the most important thing any team can do. A franchise QB is the best deodorant for other failures in building the team. All the coaching in the world isn't going to elevate Teddy to being a top 10 QB. We are better off finding the right QB and letting Rhule, Brady, and Snow coach the other players up even if it means lower draft picks.

The Panthers can certainly be active in FA if they want to. The question is always about risk vs. reward in terms of mortgaging the future if you think you can win now vs. making sure you are able to continue to be competitive long-term. The Panthers took a massive hit in dead cap this year (most in the league). Meaning they have already starting cleaning up the mess of bad contracts like Matt Kalil, etc. The conundrum remains on determining how close this team is to competing and making decisions based on that. I saw the Saints signed Jarius Byrd in 2014 when they literally were in the worst cap shape of any team in the league. In retrospect, it took them 3 mediocre years to overcome that (really their awesome 2017 draft was the thing that saved them). Ultimately, the Panthers can be super active if they want. History/ analytics probably indicates they should continue to be methodical vs trying to make a splash for longer-term success. But Deshaun Watson remains the wildcard. I feel confident we should mortgage the future to get him b/c I think long-term it is the best investment the team can make. And let's be honest. The turnaround shouldn't take much more than this year regardless. NFL coaches who can't compete by year 3 probably aren't going to. The NFL is too much of a "Not-For-Long league to not be bold sometimes.

Agree, but it's hard for me to get too upset over the treatment of any QB after watching how Cam was treated.

That's the one nice thing about the NFL. It's not like the NBA where you are stuck with bad contracts no matter what. Certainly Bridgewater's contract would complicate a trade for Watson, but it won't be the deciding factor IMO if there actually exists a chance for the Panthers to get Watson. Finding a franchise QB is priority 1, 2, & 3. Just b/c Bridgewater didn't work out doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to try. We definitely aren't in as bad a spot as the Rams or Eagles with the contracts they gave Goff & Wentz respectively.