The Matt Rhule era of the Carolina Panthers begins Sunday. Here’s what you need to know
We’re just two days away from the official start of the Matt Rhule era in Carolina.
After months of talk and speculation and fears of the season never starting due to COVID-19, the Panthers will be playing a football game Sunday vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.
It will be Matt Rhule’s first game as an NFL head coach. Joe Brady’s first game as an NFL offensive coordinator. And quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will be playing the first game of a season as a starter for the first time since 2015.
With at least four rookies starting on defense — Derrick Brown, Yetur Gross-Matos, Troy Pride Jr. and Jeremy Chinn — things could be rocky at first. But part of the excitement of this first game is the unknown. This is the coaching staff’s first game with this new group of players. There’s a lot to look forward to, even from a curiosity standpoint.
With that in mind, here’s what you need to get ready for Week 1:
Previews
Offense: How the Panthers will use Christian McCaffrey and what to know about Carolina’s offense
Special Teams: The Carolina Panthers’ special teams are a bit of a Joe-brainer this season
Schedule
Week 1 — Sept. 13: vs. Las Vegas Raiders, 1 p.m., CBS (No fans in attendance)
Week 2 — Sept. 20: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. FOX (No fans)
Week 3 — Sept. 27: at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m., CBS (No fans)
Week 4 — Oct. 4: vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1 p.m., TBD
Week 5 — Oct. 11: at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 6 — Oct. 18: vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 7 — Oct. 25: at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 8 — Oct. 29: vs. Atlanta Falcons (Thursday Night Football), 8:20 p.m., FOX/NFL Network
Week 9 — Nov. 8: at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 10 — Nov. 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 11 — Nov. 22: vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 12 — Nov. 29: at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m., FOX
Week 13 — Dec. 6: Bye
Week 14 — Dec. 13: vs. Denver Broncos, 1 p.m., CBS
Week 15 — Dec. 19 OR 20: at Green Bay Packers, TBD
Week 16 — Dec. 27: at Washington, 1 p.m., CBS
Week 17 — Jan. 3: vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., FOX
Practice squad gameday rule
NFL teams will have an option to add two players from the practice squad to their game day roster, going from 53 players to 55. Teams can also increase their number of active players for the game from 46 to 48 (eight offensive lineman must be active). There are restrictions to the amount each player can be used in this way, but it will allow for more experience in regular-season games.
COVID-19 Update
The Panthers still have two players on COVID-19 lists: OL Chris Reed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and DB Natrell Jamerson on the practice squad/COVID-19 list. Of the five players league-wide on the COVID-19 list, the Panthers have two.
Injury update
The only player who the Panthers will likely be without vs. the Raiders is left guard Dennis Daley. He has missed three straight practices with an ankle injury. Veteran Michael Schofield is likely to start in his place.
Fans at Bank of America Stadium
The Carolina Panthers announced Aug. 31 that they would not have fans in attendance for their first home game of the season. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services declined the Panthers’ request to have an exception to the state’s limits on mass gatherings of 25 people indoors and 50 people outside.
The Panthers are still hoping to have some fans in the stands as early as their second home game. The team has put in place a variety of measures to try and make the stadium as safe as possible for fans. The team tested and planned new ways to have fans enter and move around the stadium safely, including putting arrows on the floor indicating which direction to walk in.
“I think the league is determined that the teams that can have fans will have fans and the teams that can’t have fans, can’t have fans. “It’s just a question of how the different regions are, I guess, and what they view and how the different governors are, and it’s maybe how much they like football or not,” team owner David Tepper joked last week.
More than 50 percent of PSL owners have opted out of their season tickets after the team gave fans the option to do so back in July. Those who chose to do so will not have their PSL owner status impacted for the 2021 season.
Tepper expressed his regret for the fans not being in attendance to start the year and for families of the first-year players that won’t be able to be in attendance, in addition to families of other players and coaches.
“I don’t love all the red ink that we’re going to see this year, but I hate more not seeing the fans in the building. I have other means, OK, of income. I do have other businesses,” Tepper said. “I’m using this for the fans and for football.”
— Alaina Getzenberg
Record prediction
Alaina Getzenberg: 4-12
Jonathan Alexander: 5-11
Scott Fowler: 4-12
REQUIRED READING
+ Panthers won’t move to Rock Hill until at least 2023. A look at facility, what’s next
+ Five takeaways from the Panthers’ 53-man roster and how the depth chart may shake out
+ Panthers claim three players off waivers. Here’s what you need to know about them
+ Ahead of first game, Panthers re-sign Efe Obada, place Eli Apple on injured reserve
+ How the Panthers are addressing cornerback depth and Curtis Samuel’s contract situation
+ The Panthers won’t be bad enough to draft Trevor Lawrence. A season prediction, promise
