Wednesday next week, Chris. We’re gonna be there. Training camp starts Wednesday next week. And that is the hump day that I am most looking forward to at this point in my life. Let’s get this soccer started. Get dialed in Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews, locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panthers Playbook. Here are your hosts, Dennis Cox and Chris Lee. Welcome back to another episode of Panther’s Playbook. That’s Chris Lee, Dennis Cox here with you. We’re back from vacation and we’re ready for training camp. Folks, leave in the comment section. See the tan. Do you see the? You see the tan. Do you see my tan? What’s the one area where you’re most confident in for the Carolina Panthers? And also what’s your biggest concern going into training camp next week? And, and Chris, there is a bit of a concern, not just for the Carolina Panthers, but really for a lot of teams around the NFL when it comes to their 2nd round picks, uh, for at least for the most part. Nick Skorton, the 2nd round pick for the Carolina Panthers out of Texas A&M, hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet. But here’s something to keep in mind. Only 2 2nd round picks have signed their contracts so far. So it’s not like this is like a unique thing for the Carolina Panthers. This is something we’re actually seeing pretty much league-wide. Yeah, 30 of the 32, 2nd round picks have not signed the contract. You can be a part of, uh, rookie mini camp, OTAs, mandatory mini camp, those off-season workouts. However, without a signed contract, none of those guys can participate in training camp. So that is gonna be something very interesting to watch as we are kind of leading up to Panthers training camp starting this coming Wednesday, uh, depending on, you know, when you guys are are watching this. Um, and so, yeah, that’s something to kind of think about the, the small concern for me in that is not that I don’t think it’ll get done, cause it is, like, and we could talk about the holding patterns and why and all that, but for the Carolina Panthers specifically, a team that needs pass rushing, the last thing you need is to have one of your two rookie pass rushers, especially the one that people have the most faith in, being a little bit behind. Just because of a contract dispute or a contract situation. Now, again, Panthers aren’t unique in this, as you said before, there are 30 other guys who are in that, or 29 other guys who are in that same holding pattern. Um, so, you know, 29 other teams are dealing with the same thing with their second round draft picks, but, um, man, that’s, that’s the biggest concern, uh, for me. Now you want to talk about why we can get into the why and educate the folks into this? Sure. So the reason why that there’s a holding pattern, I guess you can say for pretty much all the 2nd round picks. With the exception of two, Carson Schwesinger, the 33rd overall pick with the first pick of the second round, and Jayden Higgins, the 2nd overall, the second pick I should say in the second round, who went to the Houston Texans. Now, when Jayden Higgins signed his contract with the Houston Tex Texans, 4-year contract, $11.7 million which is the allotment for that pick. They fully guaranteed it. And then so the Cleveland Browns with Carson Swesinger, who was picked just before and, fully guaranteed his $11.7 million. So this was the first time we’ve seen a second round draft pick have a fully guaranteed contract. This is the first time we’ve ever seen it. So now everyone’s like, well, wait a second, that second round draft pick got a fully guaranteed. I, I don’t blame for an agent or a player to say, well, mine should be too. So every pick from 4 close to it, or at least close to it, because every pick from 35 to 64 in the draft, those 30 picks like you mentioned, Chris. have not signed yet. And there are teams that are actually already reporting to training camp as we are recording this and, and people are watching it. There are guys that teams have already reported. So that’s just kind of the holding pattern. It’s just, I think teams are waiting to see who buges first, you know, because then everything else is gonna kind of get, it’ll be a trickle down effect when it comes to that kind of stuff. But as you mentioned, Chris, Nick Skorton was at OTAs. He was at mandatory man camp. He was at rookie camp. Like he was doing all the things this offseason. So hopefully, If he gets the deal done, he doesn’t miss a beat, but I do love the fact that he didn’t miss anything this offseason. More about the second rounders, this goes back to last year where, uh, and maybe years prior, I haven’t gone back, you know, prior to last year, but, uh, the 33rd pick, what is it? Keyon Coleman 96% of his contract, his rookie deal was, uh, guaranteed for, right? And so like this is starting to get higher and higher, inching higher and higher. Uh, for these guys. And so now you talk about number 33 this year. Fully guaranteed, number 34, fully guaranteed. And so you, you might be in a situation where if you’re 40, you’re pick number 40, you’re looking like, well, shoot, why should I sign mine right now? They, they may only want to guarantee me 80%. Mhm. It if number 39 or number 38 ends up signing something that’s 95% or better uh guaranteed, then I’ve lost out on possibly for every percentage, you’re probably talking about another $100,000. So in that case, you’re probably missing out on like at least maybe a million dollars. You know those are full of guarantees as far as full guarantees, um, you know, you can still probably make that up with, you know, good performance and health, but you can’t guarantee any of that, so, uh, that’s why you want the guaranteed money. So, uh, that’s gonna be very interesting to watch and I hope that, you know, when somebody’s listening to this, they’re like, oh well, Nick Gordon already signed the contract, he’s gonna be a. At uh training camp. I hope that’s the case. I hope we’re gonna see a lot of movement within the next few days, but, um, that is, that is my little small concern uh with him as we give some context as to why this is happening for our great audience out there. And, and deadlines are generally what spurs action, you know, that’s the thing to keep in mind as well, like usually deadlines. Or the reason, you know, or what eventually causes these things to get done because guys want to play, guys want to get on the field. And this is something that has been a major concern. Talk about our concern, Chris, uh, for the Carolina Panthers defensively is guys that can actually get to the quarterback on a consistent basis. And you draft Nick Skorton, 51st overall, and many people thought he could potentially go into the first round. This guy was brought in to not only be good in the run game and all that stuff, but this guy was also brought in to get to the quarterback. It’s been since 2017, Chris, since we’ve had two Panthers in the same season get double-digit sacks. It was Julius Peppers and Mario Addison. The first guy I just mentioned has already entered the Hall of Fame, you know, like that, that’s how far back we got to go. And both those guys had 11 sacks in those seasons. Since then. Only twice have we seen a Carolina Panther get double-digit sack seasons. It was Brian Burns a few years ago and Hassan Reddick. That’s it. And that’s all we’ve seen since 2017, just two guys reach that number. The year with Hassan Reddick and Brian Burns together. Burns was close, what he was like maybe 9595 sacks that year. So it was close to getting double digits, so you can almost count that but you know, officially no. But yeah, like, you know, that’s something that’s um. It’s needed. I, I don’t necessarily know if I care if you have one guy that gets double digits, but it would be cool to look up and maybe Nick Skorton has 7, and Princeley Uman Mielen has 6, and you have, um, Pat Jones has 8, Pat Jones has 8, and then you have, uh, you know, DJ Waum, maybe he has 8.5, you know, that. Then we’re starting to look pretty good right there, and now you’re saying like, OK, between these four guys, 12 with the two rookies, it’s looking like growth, it looks pretty good, you know, um, you know, it’s good for the future. Then with the uh the veterans, Pat Jones, DJ Waum, you know, hey. You guys are are living up to what we brought you here for, uh, essentially, and, you know, it’s it’s looking good and you guys are gonna, you know, maybe possibly can stick around because I believe this is the last year of DJ Wanham’s contract. So, um, so yeah, we need to, we need to have that and also not even not even just from them. I would like to see Derek Brown, hopefully, you know, get his sack total up a little bit. I’d like to see what will happen. Uh, for some of our interior linebackers, if they’re gonna be sent in on blitz blitzes and maybe a couple more sacks comes from those, uh, maybe even a corner blitz, that was a couple of times last year, those worked out. What’s up Shaw Smith Wade? Can you, can you, can you make it happen for us if it’s, you know, called for you, of course. So, um, I’d be interested to see if any of those types of things uh happen for the Panthers as well, so that you don’t put all the pressure on the outside linebackers. But those are the guys that carry the bulk of the load for sure. Yeah, I agree with you. There’s, there still has to be, like you mentioned, like on the aggregate, you know, guys chipping in in some way, shape, or form, and you mentioned Derek Brown. I think that’s the next evolution of his game. Hopefully he’s gonna be full, healthy, and ready to go. That’s the next evolution of Derek Brown is impacting the past game a little bit more. Chris, Chris, yeah, or Aaron Donald, Yeah, 100%. I mean, you could say without a doubt, obviously barring this. Last season with the injury, he’s the best run stopping defensive interior lineman in the entire NFL. Like you could say that. I mean, you don’t rack up 100 tackles on a season on accident. You just don’t. You just don’t as an interior defensive lineman. That’s not an accident. But if he does add, hey, you know what, if he gets 5 sacks this season, or chips in and gets more pressures and, and forces the quarterback to, you know, flush out of the pocket and throw the ball away, those kinds of things add up over the course of the season. And which will only benefit the defense as a whole. I’m excited to see what Turk Wharton can do as an interior defensive lineman, because I think he was really brought in because what he can do in terms of the pass rush as an interior defensive lineman, and the depth that’s been added up front with, like we mentioned, Wharton, Derrek Brown coming back, Bobby Brown coming in as well. It takes a few snaps away from AShaw Robinson, which will help him be more fresh. And that’s something that’s gonna be needed as well because we saw last year. Those, those guys that were playing just took too many snaps and they just wore down as the season went along. So there is still concern up there up front on the defense, how well does it all gel together, but this team needs to have Nick Scoring in there, Chris. Otherwise, the questions are still gonna remain. The questions, to be honest, will still remain until week one actually rolls around, but if he’s signed in there, you’re gonna feel at least a little bit better about it. My concern, other concern, um, we’ve talked about this ad nauseam, so we don’t probably we don’t have to get too deep into this, but also just secondary, um, and just more so the depth. I am very much so comfortable with JC Horn, uh, Michael Jackson, and Shaw Smith Wade. Um, what is Shamar Bartholomew gonna bring to the team? And I would like some depth. I would like somebody to be brought in to maybe, you know, push Michael Jackson, maybe Michael Jackson. Isn’t guaranteed a starting role because they bring somebody else in who can push him. That would make me feel a lot better. Uh, also at safety, uh, we’ve seen a lot uh being talked about Damani Richardson as maybe potentially that free safety that we’re looking for, uh, and his ball hawking skills and things like that, but he’s ultimately, uh, unproven. We’ve seen flash. And last year’s training camp, I think there was a big play last year in preseason, couple of plays during the regular season, things like that, but we’re not looking at him as like, oh man, you know, Troy Polamalu on our team right now is like, no, we’re not looking at, you know, he’s still pretty much, uh, you know, an unknown commodity because he could have been a flash in the pan last year, so we need him. Uh, to see what the follow up is gonna be and see if he can be a little bit better. And then what does Lathan Ransom and, uh, you know, Trayvon Merrick bring to the team, uh, in the secondary. That’s another spot where I would like to see maybe, you know, another signing or two, to push and, you know, maybe you’re looking at a place where, hey, maybe Ransom or Damani Richardson. Aren’t guaranteed starters with me because of whoever they decide to uh to sign. So that would, those would be my my other concern, but those are smaller concerns, and a lot of it is injury based too, because we saw so many injuries last year, you just want guys to be fresh. Let’s get into what we’re confident in, Chris, this like let’s get into like that confidence. Let’s, let’s end this thing on a high note. You’re not something that we’ve talked about a lot this offseason, something I’m confident in. Offensive continuity. Like that is a massive thing. This is just continuity for this franchise is something we haven’t seen in a long, long time. In terms of same quarterback, the head coach slash play caller, we haven’t seen that. I remember correctly since 2018 going into 2019 with Cam Newton and Ron Rivera and that staff. Like this is the last time we actually had from one season to the next, the same thing. It’s been that long and I think that’s gonna benefit so much. I remember asking, uh, Dave Canalas and Chuba Hubbard about this during mini camp and uh during Chuba Hubbard, you know, the, the paraphrase, it’s like, yeah, it’s the first time in my career I’ve had this, and it’s, it’s actually comforting knowing and Dave Canales used the term as opposed to. Using or teaching words, we can actually speak in sentences now. And I think that’s gonna be a massive thing for this offense. And from what the little bit I saw in mini camp, again, there’s no pads or anything like that on, but when they’re doing 11 on 11, it felt like the offense was picking up where it left off, and that gives me confidence, Chris, going into this season for sure. Yeah, absolutely, um. I, I, I’m interested to seeing, like, you know, you mentioned like now we’re speaking in sentences. I’m interested in seeing like how the Panthers offense grows, where, like what extra levels, extra wrinkles can uh they add that we didn’t quite get a chance to see last year because everybody was getting to know a new system and, you know, so what are we gonna see there? How can they make it a little bit more flashy, a little bit more unpredictable. Um, and something that can, you know, catch defenses, um, you know, on their, on their heels a little bit. So, um, I, I, I definitely think that’s the next evolution as far as something that I’m excited about myself. Mhm. Doesn’t doesn’t really have anything to do with uh any position group or um something on the field or any expectation. Dennis, it’s it’s simply the fact that the guys who have this jersey on for the most part, feel like they want to be there, right? Think about it this way. Isaac Bruce in 2019 didn’t really want to be there. It’s a good stop to show that I still got it in the NFL. Maybe I can, you know, uh, get, you know, a few, uh, nice stats and then go somewhere else and try to actually win as I’m on my way out of the league, right? Did Jade and Clowney want to really be with the Panthers outside of the fact that it was close to home? Right? Maybe not. Did Hayden Hurst really want to be here? Did DJ Chark really want to be here? You know what I’m saying? Would JC Horn, if this was 2 years ago, um, you know, if, if his rookie deal was coming up 2 years ago, would he have said, I’m just gonna test the market. Yeah, you know, would Chuba Hubbard 2 years ago, if his rookie deal ended 2 years ago, say, ah, I’m just gonna test the free agent market, you know what I’m saying? Like, did, did Robby Anderson really want to be here at the end of the day? Like, a lot of those players, a lot of those players in that time period, I don’t think a lot of those guys really wanted to be Carolina Panthers, and you had people who decided to stay, who could have, I mean, a great example, Brady Christensen. Brady Christensen probably could have been somebody’s starter on another team, probably a horrible team, but a starter nonetheless making starter money. He decided to come back to be a backup. You know what I’m saying? Like, that’s the part for me where it’s like, it feels like something is changing, something is switching, and me and you have been in that locker room, and we we know on plenty of occasions, right? I felt the difference. A losing locker room in 2024 was completely different than a losing locker room in 2022 and 2023. Like, I would even 2024, those guys were like, OK, we lost, it hurts, it stings, but man, we are right there. That’s what it feels like right now. I honestly, I will say as well talking about guys that didn’t want to be. Here DJ Johnson was a guy that didn’t want to be here because he got traded to Carolina. He didn’t sign as a free agent. He got traded here to Carolina when, when I’m sorry, not DJ Johnson. I was like, Deonte Johnson. Deonce Johnson, Beyonce, Deon, my apologies. Deonte John all apologies to DJ Johnson, uh, but Deonte Johnson, my apologies. But Deonte Johnson didn’t want to be here and there I remember you. I walked into that locker room after that week 2 loss against the the LA Chargers and I was like, 00, OK, this is, this is not like guys just weren’t feeling it, right? But you removed the guy that didn’t want to be there and that locker room you and I go in even after a loss or sometimes after a win and the vibe was much, much different, much, much different and like you said, Chris, you get guys that wanna be there and that are buying into what this franchise is trying to do and turn things around. That matters a bunch. Like there’s a lot of talented players, but you gotta find the right people, Chris. I was gonna say the big difference with that is you go from having somebody who I’m here, one to stay in a league because I have a lifestyle I want to upkeep and maybe if I do decently here, I can go and get a little bit bigger of a contract at a better team next year, right? So in that case, when they’re there at the place that they don’t they they don’t want to be at. They’re playing for themselves. They don’t, they don’t necessarily care about the wins and the losses. We saw Deonta Johnson make a lot of business decisions last year. Oh yeah. On the field, you have people who start to make business decisions. It’s not all about the winning. I want to show, take out the wins and losses. How many catches did I have? How many yards that I have within that? Hey team, I deserve this. Please sign me. That’s really what. A lot of people are about. You have somebody like a Brady Christensen, somebody like a JC Horn, somebody like a Chuba Hubbard, guys that really want to be there, and now all of a sudden when you draft Tedderoya McMillan, you think Tedderrola McMillan would have been excited to be a Carolina Panther two years ago? Maybe not. He’s excited because he’s coming into a situation where others are excited, and now he knows that these people are going to play for him. Well, shoot, I gotta play for them now. This, this feels good. Many of us have been in work situations where we can tell, like you, for instance, I come to WREL, one of the first people to reach out to me. It’s you, and we started to bond over things that we like, like pro wrestling, and then all of a sudden we’re talking about doing a podcast together, and now it’s like, it’s the middle of the pandemic, it’s uncertainty, we don’t know what’s going on, but me and you have something that we’re excited about. It very well could have been something else where nobody reached out, nobody cared, whatever, it’s this guy from Greensboro. And so I’m like, whatever, this is just the station I’m gonna be at for the length of this contract, and I’m out, right? It it really could, it could have been that way, but it wasn’t. And so when there’s great rapport and there’s a great camaraderie between guys, it makes people want to play better and it makes a better product on the field. And I’m hoping that we see that equal some more wins this year for the Carolina Panthers. Yeah, I, I’m, I’m excited about where this team is going, like the franchise, the direction that it’s going. Hopefully they can continue to take that step. And next week, Chris, we’re gonna be there at training camp. We’re gonna be there where you and I are gonna talk to some players. We’re gonna have some exclusive interviews, one on ones with some players, Chris. I’m looking forward to it. We’re gonna be sweating like crazy out there in Charlotte cause the weather is stupid hot, but we’re gonna love it nonetheless. Chris, hydrate. We’ll see you next week in Charlotte, folks. Yes, y’all be good.
