When your team is in the midst of an ugly stretch that has lasted seven seasons, you look everywhere for solutions. The Carolina Panthers finished 11-5 in 2017 and claimed a playoff berth. Dating back to 2018, the team owns a morbid 36-80 combined record. How bad is bad? During the franchise’s first 24 campaigns from 1995-2018, the Panthers lost at least at least 10 games only five times. With a 5-12 record this past season, the club has recorded double-digit setbacks in each of the past six years.
Training camp opened for the Panthers this week , and GM Dan Morgan continued to look at options to make Dave Canales’ team better. On Tuesday, Carolina added one veteran player, and parted ways with another.
On Monday, Panthers’ rookies reported to camp. The team also looked at 14 players (via Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer)—including three tight ends. On Tuesday, the team parted ways with inside linebacker Josey Jewell, who had spent one season with the club. He suffered a concussion in a Week 16 clash with the Cardinals, and reportedly was continuing to suffer symptoms.
To take his spot on the roster, Morgan added one of those aforementioned tight ends in 28-year-old pro Tyler Mabry. He played in a total of 11 games (including playoffs) for the Seahawks—six of those contests in 2021. He’s totaled one reception for seven yards and a touchdown in his brief NFL career, and is more than familiar with Panthers’ head coach Dave Canales and tight ends coach Pat McPherson. The team is certainly looking for more production from the tight end position.
Even before the release of Jewell on Tuesday, Carolina looked at five linebackers on Monday but did not sign any of the players who tried out. For now, those two inside spots will be manned by second-year pro Trevin Wallace and 2025 free-agent pickup Christian Rozeboom (Rams). Stay tuned.
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