How can the Carolina Panthers finally start stringing some wins together? Well, maybe they need their best players to play like they’re actually their best players.
On Monday, just after the team’s 13-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, interim head coach Steve Wilks was asked how linebacker Shaq Thompson has dealt with the organization’s recent failures.
Thompson, who was drafted in 2015, experienced some immediate success in the NFL—as he was a part of the Super Bowl 50 season where the Panthers went 15-1. Since then, Carolina has gone 42-66 with just one playoff appearance.
Wilks, however, had an answer for all of the team’s top guys.
“Well, I think Shaq—along with several other guys—a little frustrated in based off in where we are right now,” he said. “He was here before, when we had success. So he understands the formula and what you have to do. He needs to be one of those leaders to lead us in the right direction.
“One of the messages that I talked about this morning in the team meeting—our star players gotta play like stars. They need to step up. So across the board, on both sides of the ball. They need to play. And if you’re a first or second-round draft pick, you’re that for a reason. If we brought you in as a free agent, you’re a star player. Go play.”
From Thompson, to quarterback Baker Mayfield, to wide receiver DJ Moore and cornerback CJ Henderson—the Panthers have a number of “star” players who aren’t meeting their expectations this season. Mayfield has thrown six touchdowns to six interceptions, Moore hasn’t cracked the 30-yard receiving mark in almost a month and Henderson is constantly being picked on in coverage.
At 3-8, there’s not much hope left for an improbable playoff run. But maybe if the Panthers’ leaders step up, they can salvage whatever’s left of this bumpy 2022 campaign.
