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The Carolina Panthers have yet to see the end of their rebuilding phase as they previously missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. After finishing with a subpar 5-12 record, David Tepper's team will surely have to make significant moves on their roster in the months to come.
Admittedly, the Panthers currently have a handful of holes to fill but one of the major points of emphasis for them would be the starting quarterback position. Their lack of stability under center hindered them from playing at their best and successfully winning games over the past season.
In the upcoming offseason, the Panthers have around $17.8 million left in salary-cap space. Certainly enough, they will have to restructure a handful of the deals that they currently have in order to make more room, especially once free agency starts. Unfortunately for them, they will also have a hard time making waves in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft as they merely have a lone selection in the first three rounds.
After Tom Brady's retirement, the NFC South has already become a wide-open race and the Panthers will surely have to find a way to land a talented playmaker in order to attain greater heights and make it back to the postseason as soon as possible.
With that said, let's take a look at three reasons why securing a franchise quarterback is of great importance for Carolina moving forward.
3. Christian McCaffrey has been injury-prone over the last few years.
Without a doubt, star running back Christian McCaffrey has been one of the main pillars of the Panthers' offense in recent seasons. However, things started going downhill after his career year in 2019.
The Stanford product only made three appearances in the 2020 season due to a high ankle sprain and shoulder injury. Unfortunately, 2021 was also a miserable campaign for him as he injured his hamstring and sustained a season-ending ankle injury in Week 12.
McCaffrey only compiled a total of 442 rushing yards on 99 carries and a touchdown in seven games played over the past season. Generally speaking, it can't be denied that the 25-year-old is carrying a huge chunk of the offense on his shoulders week-in and week-out.
However, it is already expected that running backs will be prone to injuries due to their high usage on snaps as well as the physicality on the ground. With that said, it is surely a must for the Panthers to have a reliable quarterback who can make plays in order to still ignite their offense even when McCaffrey is not around.
2. None of their backup gunslingers can play as the full-time starter under center.
At the start of the 2021 season, the Panthers have P.J. Walker as a backup to Sam Darnold. He has been seeing action from time to time and has shown to be a serviceable player on most occasions. However, he is surely not a talent who can carry a team on his back as a full-time starting quarterback.
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Midway through their campaign, the Panthers also brought back a familiar face in Cam Newton after Darnold went down with an injury. He started eight games for the team though it was evident that his level of play has already regressed through the years. He is still good enough to see the field on an occasional basis and for sentimental reasons but it is safe to say that his years as a QB1 in the league have already finished.
It remains to be seen if the Panthers will keep both players at the helm though it would certainly be better for them to increase the depth and the level of competition at the position for next season.
1. Sam Darnold is not the long-term solution at quarterback.
Perhaps the biggest reason why the Panthers need a fresh start at the position was due to the turnaround of the Sam Darnold experiment. Looking back, the team started their 2021 campaign in the right direction after winning their first three games of the season.
At that time, the Panthers looked like a squad that has been rejuvenated and poised to have a shot at ending their playoff drought. Unfortunately, things went south as Darnold eventually lost his confidence, especially when Christian McCaffrey went down with a hamstring injury. From there, the 24-year-old began to look like his old self when he was still playing for the New York Jets.
Midway through the season, the quarterback himself also missed time due to a fractured scapula and the absence of a stable presence under center ultimately hurt the team's chances to be relevant in 2021. Darnold ended the season with 2,176 passing yards on 197 completions and seven touchdown passes in 10 games played.
To sum it up, he failed to maximize the opportunity of being in a Panthers side that has a better roster as compared to his days with the Jets. At the same time, the team also can't win many games if they don't have a playmaker who is capable of maximizing the talent around him in order to make good plays on the field.
At this point, the Panthers should already start exploring their options at the position if they are eager to bounce back and have a better campaign next season.
