Panthers training camp sees old players, and a new team, hungry to earn NFL ‘respect’
Jaycee Horn doesn’t want to dwell on his injury-laden past.
He doesn’t want to talk about the one from his rookie season, when the defensive back suffered multiple broken bones in his foot in Week 3 against the Houston Texans. Not the one from last year, either, which forced him to undergo wrist surgery and miss the final two games of the year.
And he certainly won’t discuss the one from last month — the left ankle and foot injury that made him miss a bulk of the team’s organized team activities.
“I’m here, I’m 100%, ready to go,” Horn said of his most recent sidelining.
He resorted to the same refrain with a wry smile to a follow-up: “I’m here, I’m focused on the season, I’m ready to go.”
Horn, the cornerback entering his third season in the NFL out of South Carolina, might not yet be considered a “veteran” by most metrics. He’s played in 17 games in two seasons.
But as a first-round draft pick from a Matt Rhule era shrouded in defeat — and who likes to play with a bravado inherited from his famously fun New Orleans Saints receiver of a father, Joe Horn — the younger Horn seemed to speak on behalf of his team when dismissing questions on if he’ll be ready to play in 2023.
His main message?
It revolved around shedding disrespect.
“I feel like since I came into the league, I’ve just gone into games, and you all know I talk a lot of junk,” Horn told reporters on Tuesday at Wofford College, the perennial site of Panthers training camps. “And I feel like we don’t have a lot of respect at this organization right now. So I feel like going into Year 3, I’m just so focused on the team, and us winning, and getting respect around the league.”
It’s not too surprising Panthers players feel this way. Carolina hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017. Under Rhule, the team went 11-27 in less than three seasons, unable to capitalize on the prime of Christian McCaffrey’s career and the hope that accompanied Cam Newton’s 2021 return.
Injuries played a role, as they do in the NFL. And Horn, specifically, is among the more “if only” players the fan base has seen, a phrase that seems to begin some brutal questions dating back to last season: If only DJ Moore kept his helmet on. If only Eddy Piñeiro nailed that kick. If only Tom Brady’s final hurrah came at another time.
But Horn isn’t the only one seeking respect on the Panthers’ roster. Plenty are — and they said as much.
Take Miles Sanders, the running back from the NFC East champion Eagles who signed a four-year, $25.4 million contract with the Panthers in March. Sanders acknowledged that he has a contract to live up to — particularly considering he earned the biggest long-term deal of any running back on the market this offseason.
“I’m at where I’m at now, and I got my contract, and I’m just looking forward to playing for my new home,” Sanders said Tuesday. “That’s all I can worry about right now.”
Take Derrick Brown, the Panthers’ steady interior defensive lineman and first-round draft pick in 2020. Take Brian Burns, who is fresh off a Pro Bowl season and still on his rookie contract, or the rest of what’s looking to be a restocked defense.
Take Hayden Hurst, too, the tight end entering his sixth season in the league who most recently furnished soft hands for the explosive Cincinnati Bengals. New Panthers head coach Frank Reich has elevated tight ends everywhere he’s been — like Zach Ertz in Philadelphia and Antonio Gates in San Diego and Eric Ebron in Indianapolis — and Hurst is excited by those prospects.
“This is the opportunity I’ve always asked for,” the South Carolina TE standout said Tuesday. “Ball’s going to come my way a lot. I’m in the best shape of my life. ... I’m just excited to be a part of this.”
Optimism generally springs eternal at training camp. And it did on the team’s arrival day on Tuesday. There are reasons for that: The team ushered in a new era this offseason with Reich — a head coach with strong ties to the team’s origins — and traded up to take the No. 1 pick in dazzling Heisman Trophy quarterback Bryce Young.
It’s true, too, the NFC South seems to be wide open this year more than usual. The Falcons and Saints are coming off 7-10 seasons, with the Buccaneers trying to sort out their quarterback room after the (final) retirement of Brady. (Released Panthers QB Baker Mayfield is competing for the starting job in Tampa Bay.)
“It’s a huge opportunity to win the division and make some noise,” Horn said. “But these are the days that matter. No matter what we got on paper, No. 1 pick, all these defensive acquisitions — it doesn’t matter if you don’t put in the work.”
The “work” at training camp begins Wednesday.
But as far as finding guys hungry to earn league-wide respect, perhaps it’s already begun.
This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
