The 5 Carolina Panthers players who have the most to prove in 2022
.JPG "Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes under pressure from New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Demario Davis (56) in the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022.")
For some Carolina Panthers players, the 2021 season was a year to forget.
After winning their first three games, everything went south as the Panthers lost 12 of their final 14 games.
Fortunately, the offseason has provides them a clean slate. As the Panthers finish their final week of OTAs this week, next week they’ll begin their mandatory minicamp. That’s when the intensity is dialed up.
Here are five players who have the most to prove in 2022:
Sam Darnold, QB
The Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on Darnold’s contract before the 2021 season, and now he’s owed $18.9 million for 2022. If the Panthers trade for a veteran quarterback, there’s a chance he’ll be a highly paid backup.
As of now, he’s the presumed starter for Week 1, and he has a lot to prove.
Turnovers were Darnold’s issue in 2021, and have been for the first four years of his career, including his first three with the Jets. He finished the 2021 season with nine touchdowns, 13 interceptions and had nine fumbles.
He’s admitted that when his feet get choppy, he loses accuracy on his passes. That’s one thing he’s focusing on this offseason. He’ll play under his fourth offensive coordinator in five years.
“As long as I know what we’re doing and what the defense is doing, I’m confident that I can be one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Darnold said recently.
Darnold’s coaches have spoken highly of the quarterback, pointing to his desire to improve and learn offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system.
This could be his opportunity to prove he’s a starter in this league.
Robbie Anderson, WR
When the Panthers gave Anderson a two-year, $29.5 million extension in 2021, it was a show of faith and a reward for his 95-catch, 1,000-yard season.
Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer even said he expected those numbers to go up that season.
That was far from the case. Along with Darnold, Anderson struggled.
He went from a career-high 95 catches to 52, and a career-high 1,096 yards receiving to a career-low 519 yards receiving. He had seven drops, which was also a career-high.
Anderson has the third-highest cap number on the Panthers roster at $10.9 million. Only Shaq Thompson ($13.1 million) and Darnold $18.9 million) have larger cap figures. For the offense to perform well, the Panthers need him to play at the level he played in 2020.
Anderson hasn’t been to the last two weeks of voluntary OTA’s, opting to instead work out on his own, similar to last offseason. He is expected to be in attendance at mandatory minicamp.
Derrick Brown, DT
The former 2020 eighth overall draft pick had an up-and-down year in 2021. Brown was benched after a bad game against the Washington Commanders last season.
The third-year defensive tackle played at 330 pounds last season and is now down to 320 after cutting weight for his wedding. (Brown got married this offseason.)
“I didn’t want to be too thick in the suit,” Brown said.
He had 41 tackles and three sacks in 2021.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said he’s seen growth in Brown this offseason.
“He came here to OTAs in shape,” Rhule said. “He worked out here for a long time. Has made a lot of great changes to his diet. I can’t tell you what they are. He just looks good. He’s leaned out. He’s moving really well right now and playing really well.”
Brown doesn’t have to have a double-digit sack season. That’s not his game. But he does need to be a disruptive force and dominate the run game.
Terrace Marshall, WR
Marshall’s struggles in 2021 were not all his fault. Last offseason, the Panthers brought Marshall, then a rookie, in slowly as he recovered from a couple of college injuries.
And former offensive coordinator Joe Brady did not do a great job of getting him the ball. Perhaps this is the year Marshall steps up.
When the Panthers drafted him, they had hopes he could develop into a true No. 2 receiver.
With Anderson’s contract expiring after the 2023 season, that will be Marshall’s role.
He had 17 catches for 138 yards as a rookie. At 6-foot-2, 201 pounds, Marshall is a big touchdown target, and the Panthers would be best to utilize his talents.
“Going through his tape last week, there were some flashes of good football, and we’ve seen that so far,” McAdoo said last week. “He’s a young guy, seems to have a chip on his shoulder. I see a guy that can play inside and outside.
“I like what I see. I like the look in his eye.”
Donte Jackson, CB
Jackson got the contract he was looking for this offseason, and rightfully so.
He developed into one of the team’s leaders. Rhule said in March that after looking at the film, he thought Jackson played “excellent football.”
He’s right. Jackson did improve.
Jackson had 61 tackles, four tackles for loss, 10 pass deflections, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
But he also must stay healthy. He missed a lot of time in 2020 with a turf toe injury, and injured his groin late in the 2021 season and missed the final five games of the season.
Jackson’s deal was three years, $35.1 million, making him the 17th-highest-paid cornerback in the league. Now, he needs to continue to improve and stay on the field.
