One of the biggest flaws behind the Carolina Panthers’ demise last season centered on their massive injury problems. It exposed the team’s lack of talent or sufficient depth, especially on defense. Dan Morgan and Dave Canales cannot afford similar issues to arise in pursuit of improvements next time around.
HBAgency
It’s early days, and there is a long way to go before Carolina takes the field in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, it seems as if the injury bug has already struck the Panthers.
HBAgency
Carolina Panthers dealing with injury issues, but it’s way too early to panic
Canales revealed that Tommy Tremble had surgery to repair a back complication. The Panthers felt getting this done right now gives the former third-round pick a good chance of making a full recovery. The tight end isn’t expected to be back until training camp, which provides rookie Mitchell Evans with the opportunity to accumulate significant practice reps to assist his early development.
HBAgency
“Tommy [Tremble] did have surgery on his back last week, a successful surgery. We were kind of thinking about it, talking about it, looking at timelines and all that, and just felt like for him to give him the (time). He’s 25 years old. You know, let’s get this thing while he’s young and strong and be able to just get back on the right track.”
Dave Canales via Panthers.com
That wasn’t all. The Panthers are taking a cautious approach with edge rusher D.J. Wonnum, who’s also dealing with a back problem. They are waiting for the issue to simmer down before deciding on an official recovery timeline. But after Carolina released Jadeveon Clowney in favor of keeping him around, they won’t want to look foolish.
Couple this with the soft tissue problems wide receiver Jalen Coker is currently navigating, and it’s no surprise to see fans become concerned. This is the time of year for overreactions without looking at the bigger picture. It happens every year, but we are just over three months from Carolina’s regular-season opener. Time is on their side.
There wasn’t much to suggest that Tremble, Coker, and Wonnum won’t be available when competitive action commences. But apprehension was always going to arrive among fans when one considers how the injury bug has bitten the Panthers on countless occasions in recent years.
Hopefully, things will be a lot smoother this time around. Something that could potentially be the difference between success and failure.