When camp convenes Wednesday in Spartanburg, S.C., the Panthers will be minus a few familiar faces.
Most notably, long-time team captain and signal-caller Jake Delhomme and 1996 second round pick Muhsin Muhammad.
Delhomme was cast-off after a terrible 2009 campaign in which he threw a career high 18 interceptions in 11 games.
Muhammad, who was an unrestricted free agent after his second stint with Carolina, decided to hang up his cleats and retire.
Now the fate of the Panthers’ passing game lies in the hands of Matt Moore, the fourth year undrafted rookie out of Oregon State. Moore showed promise last season, starting the final five games of the season and leading the Panthers to victory in four. He’ll be challenged in camp by rookie Jimmy Clausen, the Panthers’ second round pick in the 2010 NFL draft. Despite the drafting of Clausen, it is widely believed that the starting job is Moore’s to lose. Strong-armed Hunter Cantwell and sixth-round pick Tony Pike will compete for the third quarterback spot.
The receiving corps will be manned by the mercurial Steve Smith, the underachieving Dwayne Jarrett and a pair of third round picks -- App State’s Armanti Edwards and LSU’s Brandon LaFell. Kenny Moore, who played at Butler High School in Charlotte and collegiately at Wake Forest, has a chance to show he belongs on this deep roster as Smith recovers from a broken arm he sustained in a flag football game earlier this summer. Wallace Wright most certainly will make the team in a special teams capacity, but his contribution at WR is yet to be seen.
2010 is all about change as the Panthers put more emphasis on youth and try to fill voids left by long-time fan favorites. In just a few short weeks, we’ll start to see how their gamble paid off.
Comments
Good article Brad. I am hopeful the youth movement will help the passing game, which has been just dismal the last few years with the exception of some Steve Smith catches and a those last games by Moore.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!