The Carolina Panthers are coming off of a disappointing 2018 campaign in which they won just seven games and missed the playoffs in spite of getting off to a 6-2 start.
Of course, the biggest reason for the Panthers' second-half collapse was because of a shoulder issue plaguing Cam Newton, an injury that became so problematic that Carolina had to shut down Newton for the final two weeks of the season.
Now, Newton is on the road to recovery, and the Panthers hope they are on the road back to prominence.
Still, there are a lot of question marks for this Carolina team, especially in an NFC South division governed by the New Orleans Saints.
Here are the three main priorities for the Panthers entering training camp.
3. Establish a No. 2 Receiver
The Panthers' receiving corps was not very good overall this past season, and going into 2019, it doesn't look all that much better.
Of course, Carolina does have the talented DJ Moore entering is second year in the league, so it definitely knows who its No. 1 is going to be, but who is going to be the No. 2 receiver?
Will it be third-year wide out Curtis Samuel? Will it be Chris Hogan, a slot receiver whom Carolina signed as a free agent? Or maybe even veteran Jarius Wright will step into that role?
Regardless, the Panthers don't really know who their secondary receiver will be, and while Christian McCaffrey is an outstanding pass-catcher out of the backfield, Carolina needs another deep threat aside from Moore.
2. Figure Out Who Is Going to Pressure the Quarterback
The Panthers ranked just 27th in the NFL with 35 sacks this past year, and now, they are without Julius Peppers, who announced his retirement earlier this offseason.
Carolina needs to flesh out some pass rushers on its roster if it wants to have any chance of contending in 2019.
The Panthers made sure to address that need in the draft, taking Florida State defensive end Brian Burns in the first round. They also picked up veteran defensive lineman Bruce Irvin in free agency, but there are still a whole lot of question marks along that line.
Carolina's defense ranked a mediocre 15th overall in 2018, and its lack of a pass rush was a big reason why.
1. Don't Rush Cam Newton
Newton is still working his way back slowly but surely from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, marking his second procedure on his throwing shoulder since the end of the 2016 campaign.
Obviously, Newton's shoulder has been in a delicate place for a couple of years now, so the last thing the Panthers want to do is risk re-injury there. After all, one more injury to that shoulder, and it could mean the end of Newton's career.
It's obvious Newton has not been 100 percent in recent years, and since his MVP season in 2015, he has been average, at best. Now, to be fair, he did look really good in the first half of 2018 before the shoulder issue flared up again, but that is just a small sample size.
Hopefully, Newton can get healthy again, but to reach that point, the Panthers need to take it very easy with him in training camp and need to keep him limited until he is absolutely ready to let it fly.
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