The new decision-makers in Carolina have a lot on their plate this offseason, including what to do with the fifth-year option of cornerback Jaycee Horn.
If Horn had been able to stay on the field more often than not over his first three years in the league, this would be a pretty easy decision to make. You pick up the option. The problem is he hasn't been on the field.
Horn has played in only 22 of the 51 possible regular season games since entering the league in 2021. That means he's been up and available for only 43% of the team's games - major red flag.
In those 22 appearances, Horn has lived up to the billing of a top 10 pick. He's proven to be a lockdown corner which is why I think it makes sense for the Panthers to pick up the option and cross their fingers that he stays healthy. These types of players don't grow on trees.
Plus, is he not the perfect example of what Dan Morgan is looking for in a player?
Here's what Morgan said at his introductory press conference:
"Yeah, I think when you talk about building the roster, I think it starts with competitors, guys that are passionate about football. We want to draft guys and sign guys in free agency that are passionate about football, that love football.
"We have a lot of guys in the locker room right now that love football and are passionate, but we need to get more.
"The dog part of it, we need guys that are hungry to go out there and inflict pain on their opponents. We need guys with toughness. We need physicality. We need those type of things, just to put it plainly."
This describes Jaycee Horn to a tee. Morgan is going to want guys like Horn to stick around and be a part of this thing, not have them removed. Even if he still struggles to stay on the field, that attitude and mentality doesn't go away. Others in the locker room will take notice of his hard work and drive to get healthy and that "dog" mentality will begin to rub off on others.
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