Carolina Panthers rookie Ja’Tavion Sanders didn’t get the uniform number he was hoping for, at least not yet. But that won’t stop him from trying to grow into the tight end he wants to be.
Sanders spoke with reporters following his second taste of rookie minicamp on Saturday. The fourth-round pick was asked if he has to earn the No. 0, the digit he wore at the University of Texas.
“Oh yeah, no doubt,” he replied. “I feel like every rookie gotta earn their number. I knew I wasn’t gonna have 0 coming in, so I’ve already had that mindset knowing what I gotta do. Come in, put the work in, day in, day out to earn that number.”
85, not 0, is the number Sanders has been saddled with out of the gate. So on the bright side, that’s only three ticks off 88—the number of the last great Panthers tight end he’s aspiring to be.
“I told everybody I’m trying to be the next Greg Olsen here,” he later said with a smile.
That’d be an incredible outcome for Carolina, who hasn’t seen much production from the position since Olsen’s departure after the 2019 seasons.
Over the past three years, all Panthers tight ends have combined for 1,530 yards and eight touchdowns on 154 receptions. Sanders, in his last two collegiate campaigns, totaled 99 catches for 1,295 yards and seven scores.
