The past two and a half weeks have seen the Panthers lose two of their most hyped receivers entering the 2017 season. We all have our opinions on the Kelvin Benjamin trade and none of us have really seen enough out of the oft injured Curtis Samuel to form an educated opinion, but none of that really matters now that they are out of the picture for the rest of 2017. The Panthers now find themselves with very shaky depth at the wide receiver position and no obvious answers to shore up the position.
Just because the current general manager doesn’t have a history of opining that “the answer is on the roster” doesn’t mean you should be looking for the Panthers to make a free agent or practice squad signing over the course of the bye week. Carolina spends a lot of time carefully tamping down expectations for new receivers each off season due to the length of time it takes to learn Mike Shula’s offensive system. To their eyes, the depth looks shaky because of a lack of game experience not a lack of talent or competence. With that in mind, let’s look at a few candidates currently with the Panthers that may be poised to step up coming down the stretch.
Cameron Artis-Payne
Seriously, a running back? Yes, seriously, a running back. The Panthers may be thin at receiver but they still boast a deep backfield. With Christian McCaffrey capable of lining up and making plays out wide and in the slot the obvious move is to keep your best players on the field and transition to using Artis-Payne as Stewart’s primary back up.
The running back may not be the youngest guy in the league, but he has fresh legs and proved on Monday Night that he is more than capable of taking advantage of good blocking by posting 68 yards and a touchdown on just 7 carries. It’s no knock on McCaffrey to say that Artis-Payne is also a good back. If Shula wants to maximize the talent he has on the field, and stick to the plan to quicker at wide receiver, then he should consider taking advantage of the wealth he has at running back to help alleviate his injury problems elsewhere.
Damiere Byrd
This one might seem like another head scratcher. The Panthers grand hopes to keep their enough blood in their offense to keep it moving shouldn’t rest to a receiver with one career catch that is currently hanging out with Samuel on injured reserve. The coaching staff, however, has long seen promise in the young receiver and believe that his speed could one day play a part in the Carolina offense. That speed, by the way, should be completely unafffected by Byrd’s injury, as he landed on IR in week 4 after fracturing his arm against the Patriots.
His relative lack of experience is certainly a concern, but it isn’t the end of the world. As noted above, new receivers take a lot of time to get worked into our offense and the third year undrafted free agent now has more experience in our system than almost any other wide receiver in the NFL. He will be eligible to return in week 13 against the Saints.
Brenton Bersin
The prodigal son returned as a depth signing after Hurney completed the Benjamin trade. Remember how I said Byrd had more experience than almost any other wide receiver in the NFL? Enter ya boi, who has caught 25 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown in his four-year career with the Panthers. There is no other reason to reasonably expect Bersin to be our ray of sunshine in our increasingly cloudy offense, but as long as he is on the roster he certainly has a chance.
But what about Brown/Clay/Shepard?
There are a handful of other players that have a chance to step up (or step in) over the final stretch of the 2017 season, but I don’t think they are as likely candidates to fill the Samuel role as those mentioned above.
Russell Shepard is already serving as the Panthers de facto number 2 receiver. His opportunities won’t change because of this injury. The only thing that will change that for him is if his drops and slips continue at the pace we saw on Monday night. Even then, however, who is going to take his spot?
Kaelin Clay, our once and future kick returner, certainly possesses the speed Shula wants to get on the field, but given the progression of previous new receivers it is hard to believe that he will have the chance to carve out a regular role in the 2017 Panthers offense.
Philly Brown is perhaps the most intriguing option who is not currently on the Panthers roster. Having served as a functional part of the Panthers record-breaking 2015 offense, Brown certainly has the experience that Panthers need right now. However, all reports out of Bank of America Stadium suggest that Hurney is expecting to find the answer to the Samuel injury on the Panthers roster.
Poll
Who should fill Curtis Samuel’s role?
This poll is closed
-
10%
Cameron Artis-Payne
-
41%
Damiere Byrd
-
5%
Brenton Bersin
-
10%
Kaelin Clay
-
30%
Philly Brown