Keyarris Garrett didn't have to choose Carolina, but he did

[CPF4LIFE]

6 hours ago, WOW!! said:

6 Wr's with 4 being 6'4 and up add Olsen is truly playing basketball on grass .. No secondary can match our size and physicality on the outside...

If they try it will be PI calls  all day 

[Pimpdaddy]

I'm pulling for this kid too....i'd be nice if we have some rooks contribute from the gitgo...brains go a long way...

[KB_fan]

Bill Voth got a bit more insight from Proehl as to why the Panthers didn't draft Garrett:

Definitely shows how "need" does mix with "BPA" in terms of how our draft board gets set up.

http://blackandbluereview.com/notes-quotes-panthers-rookie-minicamp/4/

Quote

 

Undrafted free agent Keyarris Garrett didn’t disappoint. Last year’s NCAA leader in receiving yards passed the eye test and showed good hands.

The question, of course, is why wasn’t he drafted — not just by the 31 other teams, but also by the Panthers.

“If we were looking for a wideout, we may have drafted him,” receivers coach Ricky Proehl said. “We had him as a draftable receiver. As the draft went, we weren’t really looking for a 6-3 or 6-4 wideout. We got that guy. But shoot, he’s there in the free agent market?”

 

So he really IS a "free draft pick" for us... a surprise gift.  The question is now is he going to bump someone else off the roster...

[Kevin Greene]

As long as Proehl doesn't pull a hammy, we win the Super Bowl.

[Daddy_Uncle]

13 hours ago, MHS831 said:

When you sit down and put an honest, objective mind to this, who has more upside--
Garrett or Brown? 

I think the Panthers keep 5 WRs, but there is something to consider--I doubt we keep Teddy Williams, who was only a special teams player.  If you think of Ginn that way, can we work Garrett onto the roster?

1. Benjamin (Lock)
2. Funchess (Lock)
3. Ginn (Lock)
4. Brown (Lock)
5. Garrett
6. Byrd
7. Hill
8. Norwood
9. Hamilton
10. Bersin
11. Stoshak

Note:  Byrd and Stoshak are PS eligible, and I am guessing one or both will go to the PS unless they have a remarkable or underwhelming preseason.  The addition of Garrett decreases the chances for  Hill and Norwood, imo, because I think Garrett might be better.

 

 

11 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

Don't sleep on Norwood.

People continue their hate for Bersin. I mean honestly 4 nobodies ahead of a guy who has actually played in big moments of real life games and made big catches. I can't for the life of me figure out where the hate and disrespect for Bersin comes from. Sure he's not amazing or flashy, and probably won't make the team this year but he gets the job done. Certainly better than those nobodies you have listed ahead of him. So ridiculous 

 

[DaveThePanther2008]

15 hours ago, MHS831 said:

When you sit down and put an honest, objective mind to this, who has more upside--
Garrett or Brown? 

I think the Panthers keep 5 WRs, but there is something to consider--I doubt we keep Teddy Williams, who was only a special teams player.  If you think of Ginn that way, can we work Garrett onto the roster?

1. Benjamin (Lock)
2. Funchess (Lock)
3. Ginn (Lock)
4. Brown (Lock)
5. Garrett
6. Byrd
7. Hill
8. Norwood
9. Hamilton
10. Bersin
11. Stoshak

Note:  Byrd and Stoshak are PS eligible, and I am guessing one or both will go to the PS unless they have a remarkable or underwhelming preseason.  The addition of Garrett decreases the chances for  Hill and Norwood, imo, because I think Garrett might be better.

 

100% agree.

I have always been pulling for Hill to show up.  His size plus his speed makes him so very dangerous.  If he has improved over his two years with us and shows off in Camp than there will be some serious thoughts of keeping 6 WR.

If Hill does show off there will be no way Garrett makes it to the practice squad, there were too many other teams that wanted to bring him in.  Whatever caused him to drop so far is beyond me but whatever it was.  R. Proehl is going to fix it.

Sadly we gave a pick up for Norwood however, I don't see a chance in hell we keep him.  I have no comment for Hamilton.  Bersin has always been one of my favorites and I give him a billion Kudos for hanging on so long.   I hope he hooks up with another team.

Byrd has worked his butt off and someone has noticed.  He will definitely be in the mix.    Maybe he goes unnoticed and we can stash him on the P.S. with the new guy Stoshak.

[Captain Obvious]

I'm pretty sure a couple of those guys will be on "IR" by the end of training camp. wink, wink.

[Jeremy Igo]

11 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

I'm pretty sure a couple of those guys will be on "IR" by the end of training camp. wink, wink.

Doubtful. 

 

I think GMan learned a lesson with Gafney there. 

[KB_fan]

53 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

I'm pretty sure a couple of those guys will be on "IR" by the end of training camp. wink, wink.

 

41 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Doubtful. 

I think GMan learned a lesson with Gafney there. 

I'm not positive, but I think it IS possible that a guy could be stashed on IR without exposing them to waivers.  We did it with Miley last year.

Not that Miley was as at great a risk of getting poached as someone like Garrett or Cash could be, but what did we do differently with Miley vs. Gaffney?  Miley ended up being sent to the IR due to needing some knee procedure (that we only heard about a day or two before final cuts.... HMMMMM.....  In fact, there was some speculation on the day of final cuts that he was going to be on IR Designated to Return.)  But I don't recall him ever being exposed to waivers as Gaffney was?  Did I miss Miley being exposed to waivers or did we treat the two cases differently?

In trying to answer my own questions, I did some research:

Looking at transactions from August & Sept 2015:

For comparison, I first wanted to see what we did with KB.  We added KB to IR after the first round of cuts.  I *KNOW* we did not expose him to waivers.  I recall we had to keep him on the roster throughout training camp until initial cuts to avoid exposing him to waivers.  (By contrast, when Stephen Hill and Frank Alexander were injured, both WERE exposed to waivers when we sent them to the IR):

09/01/2015

Injured reserve WR Kelvin Benjamin

08/02/2015

Waived/injured WR Stephen Hill

08/03/2015

Injured reserve WR Stephen Hill

08/24/2015

Waived/injured DE Frank Alexander

08/25/2015

Injured reserve DE Frank Alexander

We replaced both Alexander & Hill on the 90 man roster....

So clearly keeping KB on the roster throughout TC was enough to keep him from being exposed to waivers, unlike Alexander & Hill.  I wasn't sure though if that would also apply to a rookie UDFA like Miley:

Miley appears to have been sent to the IR during the 2nd round of cuts.  Unlike Hill and Alexander there is no mention of him being WAIVED, instead, just like for Kelvin Benjamini, it just says he was sent to IR.  No "Waived/Injured" transaction.  Instead direct to IR:

09/05/2015    Injured reserve DE Arthur Miley

In 2014, Gaffney, like Hill & Alexander, was injured early in the offseason.  We tried to waive him and move him to the PS LOOOOONNNNGGG before final cuts - on July 27th to be exact.

07/27/2014  Waived/injured RB Tyler Gaffney

So, it appears if there were some injury which meant we could stash a promising young player we liked on IR, as long as we keep them on the roster through at least 1st cuts after training camp, it appears they can get sent to the IR without being exposed to waivers.  It would just mean having one less healthy player at Training Camp.  But given how tough it's going to be to make our roster or PS this year anyway, that might not really be an issue.

Edited May 16, 2016 by KB_fan

[KB_fan]

Back on the topic of Garrett:

Bill Voth has a nice write up about him at BBR re: why we didn't draft Garrett yet are excited to have him as a Priority UDFA.  It's a slightly fuller version of the short piece he posted yesterday, focusing on how Ricky's going to Tulsa made a difference:

http://blackandbluereview.com/why-panthers-didnt-draft-keyarris-garrett/

Here's an excerpt:

Quote

 

After the Titans made Southern Miss cornerback Kalan Reed the final pick of the draft, Proehl immediately dialed up Garrett. Despite already having four wideouts standing at least 6-foot-3, the Panthers were more than willing to welcome another as a priority undrafted free agent. But they weren't the only ones.

"That's the beauty of our scouting department with [director of college scouting] Don [Gregory] and [general manager] Dave [Gettleman]. They send a lot of us out on the road and form a relationship with this kid, so now when you pick up the phone and call him, you know him," says Proehl. "You have a relationship, he knows who you are, he knows my approach to coaching and he wanted to come here and play for the Carolina Panthers."

 

According to David Newton, Panthers were the first to call Garrett:

http://espn.go.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/20826/panthers-undrafted-pickup-keyarris-garrett-i-was-the-best-wide-receiver-in-the-draft

Excerpt:

Quote

 

Proehl flew to Tulsa before the draft to give Garrett a personal workout. It was a cold day with winds swirling 30- to 40-miles per hour.

“That ball was dancing all over the place, and he was catching everything," Proehl said. “He ran good routes. He came off the ball. I liked him."

The personal relationship Proehl and Garrett developed during that visit made it an easy decision when Proehl called offering a roster spot following the draft.

“He understood me and I understood him," Garrett said. "They were the first team to call so I went with them just because of the connection I had with coach."

Garrett fits the profile that general manager Dave Gettleman looks for in wideouts. He is tall like 2014 first-round draft pick Kelvin Benjamin (6-5), 2015 second-round pick Devin Funchess (6-4) and Stephen Hill (6-4).

“He’s a big target," Proehl said. “We like big wideouts to the outside, and that’s what he brings to the table. He’s got a huge upside."

 

 

[Ricky Spanish]

A few days before the draft I was at the Arboretum Harris Teeter and saw him at the pharmacy. He was wearing a panther shirt and panther athletic shorts. I stopped dead in my tracks because I've never seen a panther player or coach around town before and my wife was pestering me like "What? What's wrong? Who's that?"

So I tell her "I Think That's Ricky Proehl, the WR coach for the panthers"

So my wife being the bubbly, upbeat and social person she is says "You should go say hi"

And I said "No, I don't want to disturb him"

So she shouts out "Ricky! Ricky Ross!"

So I shushed her and ushered her away before she embarrassed me in front of Ricky Proehl. 

And that's the day I narrowly avoided social interaction with Ricky Proehl at Harris Teeter. 

[d-dave]

Someone else said it, but I'd like to reiterate that Gentleman is building a great roster.  So many young guys filling out the bottom of the roster.  That's one of the things they said about Seattle.  They did a great job creating the competitive bottom 3rd of the roster to push the top.

Man, what a great time to be a Panther fan!

[csx]

Gaffney was exposed because of the timing of his injury. Being a legit injury that happened earlyr enough that we wanted to get another player in fast enough to take advantage of camp time. If it's just a matter of stashing someone they will wait until after the date they can be poached since the motivation here is to have that player maximize camp time since we they are not really injured.

Edited May 16, 2016 by csx

[MHS831]

9 hours ago, Daddy_Uncle said:

 

People continue their hate for Bersin. I mean honestly 4 nobodies ahead of a guy who has actually played in big moments of real life games and made big catches. I can't for the life of me figure out where the hate and disrespect for Bersin comes from. Sure he's not amazing or flashy, and probably won't make the team this year but he gets the job done. Certainly better than those nobodies you have listed ahead of him. So ridiculous 

 

I like the fact that you are defending a player, and Bersin is all that you say he is--the point I make is that he a bubble player and that is all he will ever be--his upside is now, IMO.  However, to me, the game seems too big  for him at times.  But I think,, if we had a WR corps with little Steve Smiths and Philly Browns, he would have a place.  How does he stack up to the WR corps that is 6'3" or bigger and does much of what Bersin does? 

That is Garret's issue as well.  He  will have to beat out someone and may not be the best fit.  Hate?  Not really.  Subjective analysis based on opinion?  Yes.