Marty Hurney Not Focused on Contract Talks with Taylor Moton/Curtis Samuel
With the start of the 2020 regular season rapidly approaching, starting right tackle Taylor Moton and wide receiver Curtis Samuel are entering the final year of their respective rookie deals and their future in Carolina remains up in the air.
Tuesday morning, Panthers general manager Marty Hurney had an opportunity to speak with reporters and said that contract talks are not something he is really thinking about at this point in time. "We have not had any talks to this point. I think right now our focus is really on trying to get the best 69 player roster that we can." The 69 players Hurney is alluding to is a combination of the 53-man roster and the 16 players that make up the practice squad.
Last month, Moton told the media that his focus was not on contract talks and that he is more concentrated about the football side of things right now more than anything.
"I have a lot of trust in my agent and me jumping into that [contract talk] is like me saying I don’t trust what he’s doing. I know that I’m 100% focused on football and being the best Taylor Moton I can be. I’m in camp, so I’m more worried about the day in and day out, the process of football. I focus on taking things one day at a time and everything else will fall into place and that’s part of trusting the process. I’m just focusing on football right now.”
As for Curtis Samuel, he hasn't quite lived up to the expectations since being drafted in the 2nd round in 2017, but hasn't been awful either. After the first three years of his career it just seems like he should be a little further along than he currently is. With new offensive coordinator Joe Brady now calling the shots, it could help expand Samuel's role in the offense and the effect that he has on the game. Last month, he too talked about how preparing for the season is his main priority right now and the contractual stuff will all play itself out in due time.
“I’m not really worried about that, you know, we passed that point and I’m a Carolina Panther right now, so my focus and my goals are just to get better each and every day like Coach Rhule says, ‘Get one percent better.’ I can’t be worried about the past or whatever happens. I’ve just got to be focused on now and getting better and helping this team.”
With offensive line being an area of focus as a part of this rebuild moving forward, I would expect that getting Moton a new deal following the season will be the front office's primary focus. Samuel still has a lot to prove and at this point, a second contract with the Panthers is not guaranteed - it's something he is going to have to earn in 2020.
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