Now Healthy, Terrace Marshall Jr. is Becoming More Involved in the Panthers' Offense
It may have taken longer than anticipated, but finally, Terrace Marshall Jr. is starting to become a key piece of the Carolina Panthers' offense.
The former 2021 2nd round draft pick saw limited action across 13 games as a rookie, despite bursting onto the scene in the preseason. Just as he was starting to get worked into the offense more, he suffered a concussion that caused him to miss two games. He dealt with a few other nicks and bruises here and there, including a foot injury toward the end of the season. In the final six games Marshall played, he was on the field for less than 50% of the team's offensive snaps.
Many began to wonder if Marshall would ever find a role in the offense, especially after being a healthy scratch for a Week 12 matchup with the Dolphins last year. In a roundabout way, it was all about timing. Getting healthy played a big part in that as well as Robbie Anderson being traded to Arizona earlier this season.
"I had confidence either way," Marshall said. "I always believed in myself and always know who I am. Him leaving opened up opportunities, opened up doors. I'm just blessed to be in this position.
"Preparation creates confidence for me and I kind of feel like it's showing up on the field and I'm just looking forward to continue to produce."
Speaking of confidence, that's something interim head coach Steve Wilks has noticed a major difference in from his second-year receiver.
"I think you see that with his play. I see it every day in practice with his approach and how he goes about his day-to-day operation," Wilks stated. "I think with building that confidence in practice, he goes in the game and just executes. He only had one catch last week but it was critical."
During the first five weeks of this season, Marshall's role in the offense was damn near non-existent. He appeared in just 32 snaps and recorded four receptions during that span, despite then head coach Matt Rhule repeatedly complimenting the progress that he was making in practice. Since the Panthers parted ways with Rhule, Marshall has seen not only an increase in playing time but an increase in production.
When I asked offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo where he's seen the biggest growth in his development, he went a different route. He's always known the talent Marshall has and how good of a NFL receiver he could be. From his perspective, it was simply about getting on the field and staying on it.
"I go back to OTAs with Terrace. OTAs, he was having a hell of a camp, right? He was here everyday, he was working hard. He's a smart, conscientious guy. He asks great questions. It's important to him. And he got nicked up in camp and really that's what happened. He's a younger player and he needed to take a little time to get healthy and get some reps underneath him before he had a chance to go play again. I mean, it was no shot against Terrace and his work ethic and him as a football player. He was just a young player that needed to get back healthy and get reps to get the opportunity that he's got now and he's taking advantage of it."
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