Rhule Compares Panthers O-Line to I-85: 'We're Under Construction'
Tuesday afternoon, news broke that the Carolina Panthers had traded former 2nd round draft pick Greg Little to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2022 7th round pick. The move itself wasn't all that surprising as Little seemed to be on his way out after having struggled the first two years of his career and with the additions that were made to the line such as Cameron Erving and Brady Christensen.
For whatever reason, things just didn't seem to work out for Little in Carolina. Injuries had something to do with it as well but when he was healthy, he wasn't producing and there were no signs of him becoming a factor for the Panthers up front anytime soon.
"I wish him the best," head coach Matt Rhule said hours after the trade. "He might just be one of those guys that just need a change of scenery -- I hope for his sake and we're wishing him nothing but the best moving forward. It just never really quite worked out. I'm one of those guys that always believes that guys are going to continue to improve and get better. I think he's been doing that, he's been working. Just figured that this was the best move for us just to let him go ahead and go somewhere else, a place that needed him, and recoup a pick for him."
As part of the roster moves to get down to 85 players by Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, Carolina also waived/injured offensive linemen Matt Kaskey and Mike Panasiuk. Rookie Deonte Brown was banged up in the loss to the Colts on Sunday but did return to practice on Tuesday and was not in a red jersey. Even with Brown able to participate in practice, the Panthers are a little thin on numbers at offensive line. "Depth is going to be a concern for us this week," Rhule said on Monday evening.
Despite the lack of depth, Rhule does, however, feel comfortable with the first team guys. Beyond that, there are still a lot of question marks and he joked about the current state of the offensive line comparing it to Interstate 85 on the way to Spartanburg.
"I think we feel good about our starting five and maybe 2-3 other guys there that we feel good about but we're a work in progress. We're like I-85 on the way down here, we're under construction. We've got some work to do and what we need is for some of our young players to come along. I think we feel our best lineup right now is Cam [Erving] at left [tackle] and Taylor [Moton] at right [tackle]. We've been cross-training Taylor to be able to go over to the left in case he is needed."
Rhule also said that if Erving were to miss a game for whatever reason that Moton would flip over to the left side and that Trent Scott would be the first guy in at right tackle followed by rookie Brady Christensen.
When Christensen was drafted, many were curious as to where exactly he would be taking reps. He played left tackle at BYU but moving inside to guard or moving over to right tackle seemed like a better fit. Since Christensen has arrived, he has seen the overwhelming majority of his reps at right tackle behind Taylor Moton. Due to the low numbers up front, Christensen also had to kick in and play guard for a few snaps out of necessity against the Colts and held his own.
"I thought Brady did well," Rhule said. "We've been really pleased with him all camp. He battled, he got beat a couple of times inside, that's why he needs these reps. I thought he did a nice job. Going into guard, he's gotten very few reps at guard. I think maybe one day for a couple of reps but him and Aaron Monteiro just had to go figure it out based upon the situation with guys going down. He had some moments where he got overset but Brady's got a real shot. I think we are very positive in the direction of where he is. We think Brady is an option for us at right tackle."
Then there's the revolving door at left tackle. Regardless of who wins the starting job, it will be the eighth different starting tackle the Panthers have rolled out in as many years. As Rhule mentioned, Cameron Erving seems to be in a prime position to win that job but he has had a past of injuries and inconsistent play. If that narrative spills into the 2021 season, there's a good chance that Moton will be moved to left tackle and Christensen will be inserted at right tackle.
The one thing that GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule are concerned about is keeping QB Sam Darnold healthy and a lot of that comes down to pass protection from the left side. If Erving proves to not be the answer and moving Moton over doesn't seem to be the best option, Carolina will almost certainly take a hard look at what they can do next offseason to finally find their answer at the position.
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