| Advertisement |
INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly five months to the day Michael Oher was suddenly ruled out of the Carolina Panthers' Week 4 trip to Atlanta, the left tackle remains in the NFL's concussion protocol. Oher's status was confirmed Wednesday by general manager Dave Gettleman at the combine in Indianapolis.
Advertisement
When asked if the Panthers will have to go through the early part of the offseason assuming Oher won't be available in 2017, Gettleman said: "You can't deny what's going on.
"We're in the unknown and we're going to move forward. We've got a plan and we'll just see where it goes. I can't give you anything more than that."
That plan, according to sources, includes interest in left tackle Matt Kalil, who's set to become a free agent on March 9.
The younger brother of Panthers center Ryan Kalil, Matt Kalil has been a disappointment after the Vikings took him with the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft.
But the Panthers believe Kalil can be more than serviceable with a change of scenery.
The younger Kalil, who made 66 consecutive starts to open his career, missed 14 games in 2016 with a hip injury.
Another part of the Panthers' plan is to keep holding out hope that Oher will be able to return and then slide over to the right side of the line.
If he can't, the backup plan would be Daryl Williams, who started 10 games at right tackle last season. It's unclear how much effort the Panthers will spend on resigning upcoming free agent Mike Remmers.
What makes free agency even more urgent for the Panthers is the league-wide belief that the upcoming draft class lacks left tackle prospects.
If Carolina doesn't land Kalil, other options could include experienced starters like Andrew Whitworth, Russell Okung and Ryan Clady.
"I'm not going to lie, you've got to entertain it, of course," Gettleman said when asked if Oher's status meant the Panthers would have to sign a free agent left tackle.
"Free agency is to set up the draft and I want to put us back in that spot."
--Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey. And the list goes on.
The running back class is so deep in the upcoming draft, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman sees no need to keep Carolina's cards too close to his vest.
When asked if he'd envision using one of his nine picks on a back in next month's draft, Gettleman, who has the No 8 pick overall admitted:
"That's a fair statement."
The Panthers' need at the position is obvious considering Jonathan Stewart is heading into the final year of his contract and the only other true running backs on the roster are upcoming free agent Fozzy Whittaker, little-used 2015 draft pick Cameron Artis-Payne and 2016 scout teamer Jalen Simmons.
Gettleman and the rest of Carolina's coaching and scouting staffs are at the combine in Indianapolis where Fournette weighed-in at an eye-popping 240 pounds, the heaviest of the 33 backs who stepped on the scale Wednesday morning.
"Big running backs are nice. They tend to run people over better than 180-pound running backs," Gettleman said with a smile.
"It's a deep running back group, we know that. It'll be interesting to see how the whole process plays out because we're really just halfway through it."
If the Panthers don't use one of their early picks on a back, later options could include Tennessee's Alvin Kamara, D'Onta Foreman of Texas and Clemson's Wayne Gallman.
--After keeping their coaching staff intact last spring, the Panthers have made four changes since they wrapped up their disappointment 6-10 season.
That process began when defensive coordinator Sean McDermott took Buffalo's head coaching opening. Replacing McDermott is Steve Wilks, who spent the last five seasons as Carolina's secondary coach.
The Panthers promoted Curtis Fuller from assistant defensive backs coach to the head of that group and brought in Jeff Imamura to fill Fuller's former spot.
About a week after McDermott left, receivers coach Ricky Proehl stepped down to spend more time watching his two sons play college football.
Proehl's exit opened the door for Lance Taylor, a former Panthers assistant, to return after three years at Stanford.
