UNCrules2187

We are playing a 3rd string C and a backup at LG. The starters are done. Absolutely no reason to see them again this close to the season.

Folks put way too much stock into “live reps” in the preseason. The preseason does not tell you anything. You can tell this because pretty much half the league isn’t playing their starters much if at all. Once the league moves to an 18 game season, they’ll cut another week off the preseason too. I’d wager that they’ll move largely to more of those joint practices with other teams and have no more than 1 preseason game within the next 5 or so years.

Do you ever get exhausted being this conspiratorial and overtly negative over something so meaningless? What do you think will be accomplished if the starters play 10-15 snaps/1-2 drives on Saturday? I already know your reaction if/when they do play based on how they fare. Play well and score “it was against a bunch of scrubs means nothing” play poorly/go 3 and out and sit “wow they can’t even do poo against a bunch of scrubs in 3 snaps!!!!” The team is bad with a new coaching staff and it’s going to be a long season. Median outcome is somewhere in the 4-6 win range. Whether or not the starters took a handful of snaps in the preseason is going to be have absolutely zero bearing on how the season plays out.

Hindsight is 20/20 though. It's a tough thing to balance when you do have an MVP level QB to use a valuable first round pick on a replacement for that QB instead of maximizing the franchise's window to win. Plenty of Packers fans shat on their FO for "wasting" a pick on Love instead of taking a playmaker for Rodgers to maximize his MVP seasons and get another SB ring. And there's no guarantee the next guy you pick is going to be any good either. The Packers scouted well, but as recently as before the past season plenty of folks were skeptical Love was going to be any good. If you miss on a guy like that, then all you did was piss off your MVP QB, not maximize the chance to win a SB with that QB, and end up getting nothing out of the pick too.

If this happens (he plays every game, has 5-7 INTs, is generally the shutdown corner the team envisioned him being when they drafted him) and he asks to be paid like the top CB in the league, the solution is easy - franchise him and make him prove it again. edit: actually they picked up his option so he's under contract next year anyway. Make him prove this season isn't a fluke before giving him a LT deal.

Bro this doesn’t matter whatsoever? The team website put out a puff piece in late August on a 6th string RB that got cut, big whoop. It literally means less than zero.

Legit none of these guys matter except for maybe Lamar and he was injured, not much you can do about that. Just reinforces why they’re being cautious about playing any starters in the preseason given the lack of depth / quality backups.

I feel like the division is pretty garbo so should be able to go .500 against Falcons/Saints/Bucs. That just means 3 more wins out of the 11 other games to hit the over (eyeing Raiders, Bears, Commanders, Broncos, Giants, and Cardinals games as ones Panthers should be competitive in). Won 2 games last year with probably the most heinous offensive coaching staff and offensive production in Panthers history and lost another 6 by 8 points or less. 6 wins with a hopefully improved OL and much better offensive coaching/skill players should be achievable IMO.

O/U is 5.5 juiced to the over at all the reputable books. Easy schedule. If Bryce isn't a total dud and Evero can make chicken salad out of chicken poo with the pass rush and secondary, 6 wins should be achievable. For Bryce's stats, all I'm asking for is 200 pass ypg and 1.5 pass TDs per game on average. If we can't hit those marks with this schedule, then it means Bryce is a certified bust, we'll have a top 3 pick, and one of Carson Beck/Shadeur Sanders/Quinn Ewers is holding up a Panthers jersey in April 2025.

I've got modest expectations. Hoping for meaningful improvement but nothing wild. 5-7 wins, 3500+ pass yards, 25+ TDs, cut the turnovers (INTs+fumbles) in half. If he shows that, I think he'll get more time.

Lotta poo takes in this thread https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5627267/2024/07/09/adrian-wilson-cardinals-panthers-domestic-violence-arrest/?source=emp_shared_article

Gallup targets: 57 Mingo targets: 85

$5m max makes me think his salary is probably around the vet min ($1.125m) and incentives to get it up to $5m tied to production.

Ridley put up worse numbers than DJ Moore last season with a better QB/offensive structure around him and got $50m guaranteed (when DJ signed his deal it was $62m with $41m guaranteed). Not to mention he missed an entire season. Can't believe we traded DJ away ugh.

I think you might as well hang onto Sanders for this season and see what he can do if healthy behind this revamped line and scheme (Reich/Brown's offensive scheme was awful) given his $4m base salary for 2024 is guaranteed. If he sucks again, we can cut him after the season and only take on ~$3m in dead cap.

Queen to the Steelers - so much for that

If we land Queen (former DRotY and 3 years younger than Luvu), no one will care about losing Luvu. Burns was a sunk cost, knew he was gone at this stage. Bell and YGM are JAGs.

Rumors are Henry to the Ravens is a done deal

Basically a 2-year deal at $13.5m per with zero dead cap hit if we want to get out after that. Good business, solid signing.

They're not going to bench the 6th overall pick going into his 3rd year. They're putting Icky next to a strong interior and are going to see if last season's stinker of a season was due to a bad scheme and a revolving door interior. If he sinks this season, they'll replace him as a starter. But he's going into the 2024 season as the starter at LT.

$26.5m signing bonus

eye watering number there