Zach Kerr on First Year in Carolina: "I've Always Embraced Change"
Zach Kerr signed a two-year deal with the Panthers during the offseason. Kerr played in 12 games (three starts) and produced 19 total tackles for the Cardinals last season. This will be Kerr's fourth team since entering the league in 2014, so there is no doubt that he is used to change. He discussed the transition when he was asked about what attracted him to the Panthers:
“Well, for me, coming in undrafted, I’ve always embraced change and embraced something new. It’s kind of funny because I saw Rhule’s presser when he got the job and I hadn’t gotten any information on where I was going to play next or anything like that, but I actually told my friends. I was like, ‘I’d like to play for that dude.’
Matt Rhule seemed to be a key factor in the Kerr signing. The rebuilding process in Carolina with Rhule at the forefront is exactly what Kerr wanted in his seventh year in the league. Here's more of what Kerr had to say about choosing to play for Rhule:
"He seemed like he said the right things and like he knew what to say and seemed like he loved football, so I was kind of excited about it. That was one of those things where just being in a new environment and just helping something new build, if that makes sense. I’ve always enjoyed getting out of the mud and rebuilding something and rebuilding myself, reinventing myself as a person, reinventing myself as a player. So that was one of the things that attracted me to it, was just being able to come in and have an opportunity to create something new from the ground up.”
This has been a strange offseason to say the least. With no preseason and social distancing protocols in place due to the pandemic, Kerr had to adjust to a multitude of changes on top of playing in a new environment. However, he seems to be taking it well. When he was asked the team's development during training camp, he had nothing but positive things to say.
"Yeah, honestly man, I think the guys are developing well, I think all of us are. We’re understanding the playbook, very very few mental errors, which is always good when you’re in a new scheme, but the coaches do a great job of coaching us and the coaches do a great job of making sure we understand what our responsibilities are."
"It’s a collective effort amongst everybody. It’s not just the players that are working on development, it’s the coaches working on it as well. My first time meeting my coach was two weeks ago, so everybody is still working on developing whatever it is they want to develop, but I can say that we are locking in on the scheme and we’re seeing a lot less mistakes, which I think is a good thing. We’ve just got to get everybody to continue working hard and playing hard and I think we’ll be alright.”
Despite all of the changes that have occurred, Kerr remains optimistic. His ability to adjust to altering circumstances may be exactly what encouraged Rhule to sign him. We will see more of Kerr on the field alongside the likes of Derrick Brown and Kawann Short at some point this season.
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