Panthers preseason stock watch: Carolina’s starters make most of final audition vs. Bills
The Panthers wrapped up their preseason slate Saturday with a 31-26 win against the Buffalo Bills on the road at Highmark Stadium.
With Tuesday’s cut-down deadline looming, the team had several standouts on offense. There were also some competitors who took a back seat because of their play or injuries.
The Panthers will have some tough decisions to make, and hopefully, Saturday’s performances helped ease the decision-making process on at least a couple of positions.
Here is who helped or hurt their stock in the final audition against Buffalo:
Stock up
Bryce Young and the first-team offense: Young only needed one preseason drive to score a touchdown, even without his starting center, left guard and two top tight ends.
Young led a 12-play, 85-yard opening drive that culminated with a touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Matthews. During the drive, Young improvised when faced with pressure, threw well to his left, and spread the ball around to five different targets, including wide receivers Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen and Jonathan Mingo. The running game, spearheaded by Chuba Hubbard, also performed well with 15 yards on three carries
Young completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. That’s pretty encouraging, even as the Panthers took advantage of the Bills’ second-team defense.
TE Jordan Matthews: Despite being a 32-year-old, bottom-of-the-roster contributor, Matthews has continued to find ways to stand out this summer. Matthews scored a touchdown of the opening drive against Buffalo after starting with the first-team offense. With Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas sidelined, Matthews made the most of his reps, collecting three catches for 21 yards and the first-drive score on three targets against the Bills.
Matthews has stood out enough on special teams to potentially force general manager Dan Morgan’s hand with his roster status. At the very least, Matthews should be a prime candidate for the practice squad.
T/G Brady Christensen: The Swiss Army knife of the offensive line played with the second-team group and was used at left tackle.
That’s an important post, as free-agent addition Yosh Nijman (leg) was just taken off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. While Nijman was paid well to potentially be the team’s swing tackle, Christensen’s ability to play four of the line’s five positions makes him essentially an unofficial sixth man.
Ideally, Christensen’s versatility can help the Panthers bring Nijman along slowly in practice until he’s ready for game action. Using Christensen at left tackle appears to be a strategic placement to figure out how well he can play at multiple spots after he was a starter at left guard and worked at right guard during the first two preseason games.
WR Terrace Marshall Jr.: The Panthers showcased the 2021 second-round pick throughout the second half. That spotlight paid off for Marshall, who caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown in the preseason finale.
The Panthers have at least eight NFL-worthy wideouts on their roster. While the team could keep Marshall to pad their depth chart, they could also look to swap him out with another squad for a position of need. Marshall has had a tremendous summer, and that output could renew trade interest from other teams hoping to take advantage of his breakout training camp.
Either way, the Panthers should benefit from Marshall’s strong preseason finale performance.
RB Mike Boone: It feels like a cliché at this point, but Boone has shown for the third consecutive week that he is a player worthy of the Panthers’ 53-man roster. He runs well and plays multiple special teams roles.
Against the Bills, Boone ran for 20 yards and a touchdown on just four carries. With Hubbard and Miles Sanders leading the charge, Jonathon Brooks possibly headed to a reserve list, and Raheem Blackshear working as the primary kick returner, Boone’s ability to churn out yardage and fill multiple spots for special teams coordinator Tracy Smith makes him valuable.
QB Jack Plummer: Credit where due, the rookie QB finally put together a fantastic preseason finale performance.
The third time was the charm for Plummer, who led four scoring drives in more than three quarters of action. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns on the day. He also connected on two completions that went for 36 or more yards, showing off his arm in the process.
Plummer is trying to force his way onto the practice squad as the third QB. Saturday’s performance was a major step in the right direction.
WR David Moore: At this point, it’s probably safe to say that Moore is going to make the squad. A longtime Dave Canales pupil, Moore has the ability to play all three receiver spots. He also can return punts and work in various coverage roles on special teams.
Against the Bills, Moore collected two receptions for 28 yards and caught a successful two-point conversion attempt in the back of the end zone. While he played in the second half, his work was most likely due to a lack of bodies.
WR Jalen Coker: The undrafted rookie finally broke out Saturday. He caught a 36-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Bills and finished with three catches for 55 yards and a score. Coker is competing with Marshall, Moore and Ihmir Smith-Marsette for one of the final two or three jobs in the wideout room. Coker was able to stay in the running by making the big splash play of the preseason finale.
Coker did his job. He made himself harder to cut and risk to the waiver wire.
OLB D.J. Johnson: Last year’s third-round pick had a strong pass-rushing performance Saturday. In the first quarter, he nearly forced an interception on a rushed throw after blowing past protection. In the third quarter, he secured a sack on QB Anthony Brown. The takedown went for a loss of 8 yards.
With D.J. Wonnum (quad) and Amare Barno (knee) likely headed for the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, Johnson could start opposite Jadeveon Clowney in Week 1.
Stock down
CB Dicaprio Bootle: While the Nebraska alum started against the Bills, he had some pretty rough moments. He got bailed out by an overthrow in the end zone on the opening drive after he bit hard on a double move against wide receiver Tyrell Shavers. He also allowed an 8-yard completion to Shavers earlier in the drive. Bootle has performed admirably during the summer, but he had little margin for error with the Panthers having plenty of competitors for deep-depth spots in the secondary. The trade arrival of Mike Jackson didn’t help him, either.
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: The talented receiver/returner is battling for a depth role with the Panthers. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, he was bounced from the game with an ankle injury sustained after a catch on the sideline. Smith-Marsette has seemingly been outproduced throughout the summer by Moore, and Marshall’s strong preseason finale could also hurt Smith-Marsette’s status at the cut-down deadline.
Smith-Marsette finished the first half with two catches for 11 yards. He also returned two punts for 27 yards. Hopefully, for Smith-Marsette’s sake, the Panthers see past his early exit Saturday.
K Eddy Piñeiro: Sunrise, sunset. For the second consecutive summer, Piñeiro has suffered a soft tissue injury. According to the Panthers, Piñeiro sustained a hamstring injury in the second half. After outdueling undrafted rookie Harrison Mevis in training camp, the injury setback is disappointing, especially after Piñeiro made two extra-point attempts and a field-goal try Saturday.
Hopefully, the injury is just a tweak and not something that will cost him games, especially with Week 1 just over two weeks away. For what it’s worth, Canales said after the game that Piñeiro was sidelined as a precaution.
Quick hits
▪ Starting center Austin Corbett missed the preseason finale because of the birth of his child in Charlotte.
▪ These players were also listed as inactive entering the matchup: Nijman (leg), Thomas (calf), Tremble (hamstring), Brooks (NFI list: knee), Barno (PUP list: knee), Wonnum (PUP list: quad), Blackshear, Clowney, CB Jaycee Horn, CB Dane Jackson (hamstring), S Xavier Woods (groin), LB Tae Davis (foot), S Sam Franklin Jr. (foot), G Cade Mays (shoulder), G Damien Lewis (personal), and DE Jaden Crumedy (ankle).
▪ With Lewis and Corbett out, Chandler Zavala started at left guard and Andrew Raym started at center. Matthews and Ja’Tavion Sanders started at tight end with Tremble and Thomas sidelined. Cam Gill started at outside linebacker for Clowney, while Bootle and D’Shawn Jamison started at cornerback with Horn and Jackson out. Nick Scott started at safety in place of Woods.
▪ Backup QB Andy Dalton didn’t play in the finale but was dressed in a uniform on the sideline.
This story was originally published August 24, 2024 at 4:07 PM.
