The Panthers have a couple of veteran cornerbacks on the roster to turn to in the wake of Jaycee Horn’s foot injury, which is expected to sideline Horn for two to three months and could be season-ending. But another proven corner with three All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring is also in the conversation.
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The Panthers have reached out to Richard Sherman to gauge his interest in coming to Carolina, according to sources. NFL insider Dov Kleiman was the first to report the Panthers’ contact with Sherman.
Carolina has not yet made an offer to Sherman, the 33-year-old free agent who was arrested in July and charged with DUI and four other misdemeanors in a domestic violence-related incident involving his wife’s family.
But the fact that the Panthers are talking to him would seem to indicate a couple of things: They view themselves as playoff contenders following a 3-0 start, and general manager Scott Fitterer has vouched for Sherman’s character after the two were together for seven seasons in Seattle.
Police said a belligerent Sherman had been drinking and had talked of killing himself before leaving his suburban Seattle home and crashing his car in a construction zone in July, according to an Associated Press story. He later tried to break into his in-laws’ home, where his father-in-law told police he used pepper spray on Sherman to keep him from entering the house.
Sherman, the 49ers’ NFL Man of the Year nominee in 2019 for his work with students from low-income communities, told USA Today’s Doug Farrar he’s received personal help following what he characterized as an isolated incident that didn’t reflect his true character.
“I’ve got a decade worth of resumé that should stand more firmly than a momentary lapse in judgment,” Sherman said in his interview with Farrar last week. “I’ve got a decade worth of character and tape to be judged off of. If you’re judging me off of a momentary lapse, then I’m probably not the player for you either way.”
Sherman told Farrar his legal situation won’t be resolved until after the season. Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians and the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan have expressed some level of interest in Sherman, who was a shutdown corner and one of the leaders of the “Legion of Boom” defense in Seattle when Fitterer and Panthers assistant GM Dan Morgan were in the Seahawks’ front office.
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Fitterer spent 20 years in Seattle, which became known for doing research on and drafting players other teams had taken off their boards due to off-the-field issues. Fitterer seemingly has brought that philosophy to Charlotte: In his first Panthers draft, Fitterer took a couple of players whose stock slipped due to character concerns.
Given how Fitterer has made good on his vow to be “in on every deal,” you can bet the first-year GM is looking at other cornerback options besides Sherman, including any trade possibilities. The Bills recently worked out veteran corner Quinton Dunbar, whose one-year stop with the Seahawks in 2020 coincided with Fitterer’s final season in Seattle.
The 6-3, 195-pound Sherman missed 11 games last season with a calf injury, but held quarterbacks to a 69.9 passer rating when he did play. A pair of longtime NFL personnel officials differed on their opinions of Sherman when contacted Sunday. One said Sherman still has strong balls skills and can play the press coverage the Panthers like to employ, but the other scout said Sherman would be best suited in a zone-heavy scheme at this point in his career.
If the Panthers don’t add Sherman, A.J. Bouye is expected to replace Horn on a defense that led the league in virtually every major category entering Sunday’s games. Bouye hasn’t played since signing a two-year, $7 million contract with the Panthers during the offseason. He missed the first two games while finishing out a six-game suspension for PEDs, and was inactive Thursday at Houston.
“A.J.’s a true pro. He was ready to go this past week,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. “We made the decision to keep him down and get him another couple days, a couple practices before we play him next week.”
Rashaan Melvin, the 32-year-old who has been cut and re-signed twice by the Panthers since Aug. 31, stepped in against the Texans after Horn went down on a non-contact play in the third quarter with what Rhule called a “freakish injury.”
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Bouye, who turned 30 in August, was sidelined for nearly all of training camp with a soft-tissue injury. He missed five games in Denver last year due to injuries, but said last week he’s healthy and ready to go.
Bouye was expected to be the Panthers’ starting nickel corner when he signed. Rhule wouldn’t specify the plans in the secondary now that Horn is hurt, but believes Bouye can help a young, ascending defense.
“A.J. Bouye’s a Pro Bowler. He’s a special player, too,” Rhule said. “I hate losing players, but not just from an on-the-field perspective. It breaks your heart to see how hard some of these guys work, and then they get banged up. The rest of the guys, they’re NFL players (also). They’re here for a reason.”
And depending on how things play out, another one could be on his way.
Where have you gone, Robby Anderson?
Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold might have played with Robby Anderson in New York, but Darnold has a new favorite in Charlotte and it’s not Anderson. Through three games, fourth-year wideout DJ Moore leads the Panthers with 31 targets, resulting in 22 receptions for 285 yards, which are also team highs.
Meanwhile, Anderson has just 11 targets — three fewer than rookie receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. and tied with tight end Dan Arnold for fourth-most on the team. That’s a curious way for offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Darnold to use a speed receiver whom the Panthers just rewarded with a two-year, $29.5 million extension.
Rhule thinks so, too, saying getting Anderson more involved has to be an emphasis.
“He’s too good of a player to not be affecting the game. And it’s not like he’s not open,” said Rhule, who coached Anderson at Temple. “So whether that’s us designing a couple other things, whether that’s him really working on being where Sam knows he’s gonna be, whatever those things are.
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“I don’t know those answers because I’m going in every week saying, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we get Robby really involved.’ Because I want us to be this five-headed monster … and it hasn’t quite clicked yet.”
With Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback in Rhule’s first season, it was Anderson who got the lion’s share of the targets, with a team-leading 136. Moore was second with 118, while Curtis Samuel was next with 97. Anderson, the former Jet, finished with a team-high 95 catches for 1,096 yards — both career bests — while Moore also topped the 1,000-yard mark with 1,193 on 66 catches.
On Anderson’s first target of the season, Darnold found him on a deep seam route for a 57-yard touchdown against the Jets, his only Week 1 catch. Since then, Anderson’s receptions have covered 18, 4, 16 and 8 yards. After Anderson dropped his first target against Houston, Darnold only looked at him once the rest of the game — an 8-yard pickup midway through the fourth quarter.
“We have to get Robby going as an offense. Against the Saints, we had a couple deep shots to him we didn’t quite connect on,” Rhule said. “If you watch the (Texans) tape, he’s open quite a bit and the ball’s not getting to him. And the ball’s being spread around to a lot of different people.”
Rhule said Anderson has been a “good teammate” despite not having many balls thrown to him. But something has to give.
“Talking to him last week, he was like, ‘Hey, it’ll come.’ But he has to be frustrated because he’s such a good player, he’s such a good teammate and he’s not really getting involved,” Rhule added. “The ultimate goal is winning. But I think having everyone involved will help us win.”
Turn up the Tremble
When the Panthers drafted Tommy Tremble in the third round out of Notre Dame, most of the knee-jerk analysis was that they had added a blocking tight end to fill the void left by Chris Manhertz, who signed with Jacksonville in free agency. Rhule and Fitterer had other things — and another player — in mind.
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“Tommy Tremble for me, when we would talk about the draft, he was like this year’s Jeremy Chinn — a guy we thought could do a lot of different things,” Rhule said. “After the draft, we got more phone calls from other teams’ tight end coaches and special teams coordinators to our guys about Tommy.”
Tremble had only 12 offensive snaps in the opener, although he made a heads-up play when he fielded a short Jets kickoff and returned it 21 yards to set up a score. He played 29 snaps without a touch against New Orleans, before scoring his first touchdown and setting up a field goal with a 30-yard catch at Houston.
Tremble’s touchdown came on a speed sweep and made the 21-year-old the youngest tight end in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown. And yes, the 6-4, 250-pounder has done his share of blocking, although Rhule pointed out he missed his protection on a Darnold sack last week.
“When we got him, I know a lot of people said, well, he’s kind of a blocker, not much of a pass-catcher. When you’re evaluating people, you’re not really looking at stats. You’re looking at plays on tape. And I thought he was going to be this tremendous pass-catcher,” Rhule said. “Tommy’s a guy that’s doing everything he can to be good. And he’s also got things he’s gotta work on.”
(Top photo of Richard Sherman: MSA / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
