The Panthers are coming to Las Vegas this Sunday to face the Raiders. In preparation of that, I spoke with Anthony Rizzuti from USA Today’s Panthers Wire to get the scoop on the team the Raiders are about to face.
Q: I don’t know if you saw this thing recently where unnamed agents were asked to rate how well each NFL team was run and more agents said the Panthers were the most unstable franchise in the NFL than any other team (Raiders had the next most votes). Do you agree? And why?
Anthony Rizzuti: Well, it certainly looks that way. Not only has owner David Tepper garnered quite the reputation for being a bit . . . um . . . meddlesome, but he’s also failed to establish almost any type of stability during his seven-year reign.
Since Tepper purchased the franchise in 2018, the Panthers have had three different general managers, four different head coaches (six if you count interims) and 10 different starting quarterbacks. And since the team changed hands, they’ve gone 31-70—good (or bad) enough for a league-worst .307 winning percentage over that span.
Q: Was drafting Bryce Young a mistake? Or was benching him a mistake?
AR: The answer may be neither. The real mistake, rather, could be that he was thrown into an absolute dumpster fire as a rookie.
Built with visions of attaching their No. 1 overall pick to an “all-star” braintrust, Carolina’s 2023 offensive coaching staff ultimately proved to be a jumbled bag of differing philosophies that never meshed. Young, in turn, was drowned by the myriad of voices in his ear as well as the lack of playmakers and protection throughout the season.
Could Young have been a miss atop last year’s draft? Possibly, as he has yet to prove otherwise and, in the most concerning development, regressed here in 2024.
But sitting him—whether it’s for the betterment of the offense, a reset for Young or both—was a decision that should have been made. First-year head coach Dave Canales is trying to build his own culture in Carolina, and he wasn’t going to win over many players if he continued to start a completely overwhelmed quarterback.
Q: How much faith is three that Andy Dalton can be the answer for what’s wrong with the Panthers offense?
AR: Dalton may not be the answer to the Panthers’ offensive woes, but he’s certainly a better one than Young is right now.
Of their 17 games in 2023, Carolina pieced together just two 300-yard passing performances. One of the two, ironically enough, came in Week 3—when Dalton replaced an injured Young.
In what would be his only start of the season, the then-35-year-old vet tossed for 361 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He also attempted seven passes of at least 20 yards downfield, a dimension the offense has been deprived of under Young.
Now 36 years old, Dalton’s experience and willingness to let the ball fly could ignite the offense a bit moving forward.
Q: Give me an under-the-radar player to watch on both sides of the ball for the Panthers.
AR: On offense, keep your eyes rookie wideout Xavier Legette. The first-rounder, who recorded a grand total of zero targets this past week, may be unleashed with the added element of Dalton’s deep ball.
For the defense, we’ll go with cornerback Mike Jackson. Acquired in a late-summer swap for 2024 seventh-rounder Michael Barrett, Jackson has impressed in his role as the No. 2 cornerback across from Jaycee Horn.
Q: Before the Raiders stunner in Baltimore, they were viewed right there with the Panthers as one of the worst in the NFL. What strengths do the Panthers have that should concern the Raiders?
AR: Surprisingly enough, the Panthers may have built themselves a formidable offensive line. The group of hog mollies is currently being led by their interior of left guard Damien Lewis, right guard Robert Hunt and center Austin Corbett—who is in his very first year at the position.
That trio could start to pave the way for a stubborn ground approach headed by running back Chuba Hubbard. The fourth-year rusher dashed the solid Los Angeles Chargers defense for 64 yards on only 10 carries in Week 2.
