The Carolina Panthers may have themselves a new full-time gadget.
A good amount of time this past summer was spent on finding a sweet spot for wideout Laviska Shenault Jr., who possesses the tools to be a two-fold threat on offense. But after an injury-plagued season phased him out of their plans, the Panthers may have found a similar type of spark in fellow receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
Smith-Marsette provided some spice for Carolina in their 9-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Aside from his usual work on special teams, he squeezed in four rushing attempts for a total of 31 yards.
On Monday, interim head coach Chris Tabor was asked what Smith-Marsette meant to the team in their second victory of the campaign.
“I think he’s a player that kinda keeps growin’,” he said. “His role is beginning to expand on offense, which I’m excited to see. I just think whatever opportunity he gets, he’ll take advantage of. And that’s kinda where he’s at right now.
“He’s doin’ a nice job with regards to making good decisions in the punt return game. We got him on some jet sweeps—and then the motion and then throwin’ it out to him out there kinda turned into a punt return play for him. And I thought the offense did a good job of utilizing his skill set.”
Whether it was under the play-calling of former head coach Frank Reich or offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, the Panthers offense has proven to be a tad stale throughout this rough campaign. Heck, they’re still without a touchdown over their last eight quarters.
But perhaps these last three weeks will give them, and Smith-Marsette, a chance to experiment.
