Is Robbie Anderson retiring? Panthers’ 4 biggest questions entering minicamp
The majority of players on the Carolina Panthers roster have voluntarily worked out at the team’s facility for OTAs the past three weeks in preparation for the season.
Only a few have been absent.
But this week begins a three-day mandatory minicamp for the Panthers. And if a player doesn’t show, he’ll be fined, unless those absences are excused.
The Panthers don’t have any potential contract holdouts, and almost all players are expected to show.
Almost.
Here are four questions for the Panthers heading into minicamp:
Is Robbie Anderson retiring?
Panthers wide receiver Robbie Anderson surprised a lot of people Saturday when he tweeted: “Ain’t gone lie. Thinking about Retirement.”
He deleted the tweet shortly after he tweeted it, but not before multiple people grabbed screenshots of the tweet. An early retirement could have major financial implications for Anderson and the Panthers. Anderson, 29, signed a two-year, $29.5 million extension with Carolina last offseason.
If he retires, he’d owe the Panthers a little more than $19.4 million from the bonus money he received with last year’s extension and this year’s contract restructure.
Anderson has been absent for all of OTAs for the second consecutive year, instead opting to work out from home.
While OTAs are voluntary, the Panthers have a new offense, and Anderson, who is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, is also coming off the worst statistical season of his five-year career. He finished with 53 catches for 519 yards and five touchdowns in 2021. He also had seven drops.
He changed his number from No. 11 to No. 3 this offseason — and the spelling of his first name from “Robby” to “Robbie” — in hopes to start fresh.
It’s unclear how serious Anderson was about retiring. On Sunday, he tweeted: “The Real and the Struggle live through me I can’t never quit the same way y’all can’t either.”
And on Monday he tweeted a photo of him at the Panthers’ facility with his new jersey.
Will the Panthers make another free-agent signing?
While the Panthers are deeper this year than they have been in the previous two seasons under coach Matt Rhule, there are still a few positions they could address.
Among those is edge rusher. With linebacker Haason Reddick signing with the Eagles this offseason, the Panthers have been on the lookout for an edge rusher or defensive end to beef up their defensive line.
Two-time pro bowl defensive end Carlos Dunlap will visit the Panthers on Monday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the visit.
General manager Scott Fitterer has been vocal in the past about Carolina’s need for another edge rusher.
Dunlap, 33, is older but has still been productive in recent years. In 2021, he played in 17 games and finished with 8.5 sacks, seven pass deflections and one forced fumble. Reddick had 11 last season.
Fitterer has some familiarity with Dunlap, who was in Seattle when Fitterer was there.
Panthers’ quarterback battle
Quarterback Sam Darnold had a good practice last week during the portion open to the media.
With minicamp here, it’ll be incumbent upon Darnold to develop consistency and continue that progress.
Darnold will enter training camp as the starter, barring a trade. Wide receiver DJ Moore said Darnold looks calmer these days. But he likely won’t be given a lot of leeway to make mistakes before Carolina decides to give a good look at rookie quarterback Matt Corral.
So far, Corral has looked pretty good, too, but he does have a long way to go in terms of learning the playbook, the calls and all the nuances of an NFL offense and defense.
Rhule indicated last week that he and Fitterer would sit down after minicamp and determine whether they need to address certain positions.
Quarterback will likely be one of them.
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How good can Jaycee Horn be?
It was only OTAs, but second-year cornerback Jaycee Horn has been the most consistent and has made the most plays during the public portion of these practices.
Last week, he had an interception against quarterback P.J. Walker. The previous week, he intercepted Darnold.
Horn, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, is motivated after a foot injury caused him to miss the majority of his rookie season. In his only three games, he was solid.
He was targeted seven times, allowed only two catches for 18 yards, one touchdown and had one interception. The fractured foot was a freak injury that occurred as he was backpedaling and caused him to miss the remaining 15 weeks of the season.
But he’s back to 100% health, he said. The Panthers’ staff have high hopes for Horn.
Teammate Donte Jackson said “the sky is the limit,” for Horn.
“He can do whatever he wants to do in this league,” Jackson said. “He’s a hell of a player, hell of a competitor, very, very smart. The sky is the limit for Jaycee.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 10:00 AM.
