If you were to collect every Carolina Panthers fan’s offseason wishlist, most of them would probably start like this:
- Quarterback
- Bradley Bozeman
When talking with reporters at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday, general manager Scott Fitterer fielded many questions about his team’s quest for a quarterback. But there would be a few moments where he spoke on the other positions that they’re looking to nail down.
“Obviously, a tight end, we could use another receiver,” he said. “I like where our offensive line is at. We need to . . . uh . . . we’re working on Bozeman—if we can get that piece in place. Obviously, [D’Onta] Foreman. There’s a lot of pieces in place.”
Bozeman found himself a place this past season, after taking over starting duties at center following the season-ending injury to Pat Elflein. The fifth-year hog molly would then become a fan favorite, holding down the interior for every single snap from Week 7 on out.
Re-signing Bozeman would also help soften the blow of the injuries to starting guards Austin Corbett and Brady Christensen. If one or both eventually misses time to begin the 2023 campaign, having Bozeman at center and the versatility of Elflein at guard would help fill out the lineup.
Fitterer then went on about a few other spots.
“But speed at linebacker may be one,” he’d add. “Depending on how you’re gonna play [Jeremy] Chinn, another safety—if he’s gonna be down, if he’s gonna be back.”
“I like where we’re at, but the quarterback is obviously the biggest thing though. We need to fix long-term. And we’ll figure out who that is. Is it Sam [Darnold], is it one of these other guys, is it in the draft? We’ll figure it out.”
So while they’ll really need to figure that out, the Panthers are seemingly hoping that it’s Bozeman who’s handing the snaps to their eventual quarterback in 2023.
