The Panthers signed pass rusher Justin Houston to a one-year deal this week. He is expected to start opposite Brian Burns on the edge.

By Drew Nantais & Makayla Holder

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Foreign We're back for week three of processing Blue we've got the man Mike K back I had Scott final last week you playing hooky On me man what happened I think I was in The hot summer sun Um Yeah that was uh Last week in particular was brutally hot And I think my like mine melted I don't Even I I don't even remember last week At this point I've got my notes but it Was so what what is Spartanburg like to Somebody who's not used to it and new to It what is that like who's never been There I mean I really like downtown I Thought it was kind of cool no no the Weather weather Um I mean I I was talking to somebody About this the other day who's from Jacksonville but like Jacksonville's hot Jacksonville's not Spartanburg hot and It's just I mean You feel it I I you know I told our editor the other day I was Just like uh I don't know what to do Because I just like I'm it's too hot Like and I and look you know I try to Hydrate as much as possible but that Weather is brutal No it's it's it's like putting on a Blanket when you walk outside it's like You take a shower but it's like what's The point right as soon as you go

Outside you're sweating but Mike let's Talk about Little Panthers uh big move This week they signed a four-time pro Bowl adjusting Houston to a one-year Deal worth up to seven million dollars This guy's got a hundred eleven to have Sex in his career he wants to have 22 For the Chiefs about nine years ago he Started four years old is he gonna have Anything left for the Panthers this year Well it's a 35 year old I you know I I Think he he is he is Young and spry now Uh listen he's coming off a nine and a Half sack season with Baltimore he's a Rotational pass rusher you've got Marquis Haynes who's dealing with the Back injury so he was the favorite to Start prior to Houston signing Um he'll get uh Houston will get six Million you know guaranteed here that's Starter money Um that's number two Edge money and so I Think what you'll see is Justin Houston And Brian Burns are those two main guys At Edge you'll see Marquis Haynes rotate In we'll see what they think of uh itar Gross Matos he's kind of an odd Fitness Scheme we've written about it a bunch of Times we've talked about it a bunch of Times they've had two guys in Kobe Jones A practice squad holdover and then Undrafted rookie Eko Leota who have Outplayed third round pick DJ Johnson to This point what I do think is

Interesting about this Justin Houston Signing and I've written about this Before when I did my thoughts on the Rookies and we talked during the first Podcast I thought DJ Johnson was put in A spot that was kind of unfair for him You know yeah he's turning 25 in October But he's kind of a project and he Probably shouldn't be forced out onto The field because that doesn't really Help anyone so having Justin Houston Come coming in gives DJ Johnson the opportunity for maybe a Red shirt year yeah or maybe like a red Shirt like first half of the Season Which I think is great Well Panther fans remember you know Lamar Lathan and Kevin Greene the salt And pepper where the both linebackers Got a ton of sacks so we're going to see That this year we're going to get a lot Of sacks on both ends from these guys You think yeah I mean you know as you Know and as you mentioned Dom Capers is Defense historically which egiro ever Was basically adopted needs two pass Rushers to really make it work and yeah I do think you know if Justin Houston Comes in and maybe doesn't get nine and A half sacks but he gets six and a half Or seven and a half sacks that's well Worth that six million dollars Um and I think they've played this whole Market pretty well we saw Yani kingakoy

Get 10 million from Chicago we saw Leonard Floyd get 7 million with 9 Million uh with two million more in Incentives Um the Panthers didn't pay that and they Paid it for a guy who had comparable Numbers last year yeah he's 34 but you View this as a one-year rental because In in a perfect world DJ Johnson is Ready next year Um you have some other younger guys that Can maybe develop this is a stop Gap Bridge sort of pass rusher who's been Extremely productive and I think you Have him coming in right ahead of the Jets joint practices right ahead of the Preseason he's probably not going to Need a lot of preseason work he's played In a 3-4 for most of his career you know He fits you know he's not going to have To learn a ton just let him go out there And rush and I think yeah I think he can Really help Brian Burns because it's Really hard to cover I mean to block Both these guys and if you can move him Around from the weak side to the strong Side and vice versa and you can Blitz With Frankie luvu they're going to send A bunch of fireballs as Andy Reed used To say towards the opposing offense Can they stop the run Mike that's been a Consistent problem here Carolina you Know we did the 3-4 thing one time Before it didn't work out too well can

They stop the run with this crew well I'll say this Houston's a much better And much more round well-rounded run Defender than uh than than Yanni Kangakwe and I think a lot of people Wanted yanique because of his sack Numbers I think the Panthers did right By themselves and going after Justin Houston who can play against the run but He's also a rotational pass rusher so You're gonna need to get production Against the run out of Marquis hands You're going to get need to get Production out of e-tigerous Matos You're going to need to get you know Production out of those other guys and I Think that's a question that still needs To be answered it's kind of impossible To really say whether they're going to Be this group that can do both and I Think that's something we need to watch Out for in the preseason All right let me flip you around and Let's talk about the offense a little Bit Scott was in last week and we talked About Bryce young having you know four Interceptions and four straight Practices and I asked God was that a Problem he said not a problem at all What do you think about Bryce young so Far I know he has he looked good a Little bit in practices last week what Are your thoughts so far I think he Looked very good I mean he's a rookie he

Did he looks there are times where he Looks like a rookie but what I think is Encouraging is if you look at all uh six Or what is it off six of his Interceptions during the summer It's really been like every single one Of them is different like there's Nothing that's like very Um Similar like the most similar ones were The the pick that happened yes uh Yesterday in practice on Sunday and his First pick of proactive training camp Practice where he had a miscommunication With a wide receiver who wasn't in the Area and threw a ball directly to CJ Henderson on both of these picks up the Scene that's gonna happen he's young They're installing plays Um you know I think he's looked really Accurate I mean he's thrown if math off The top of my head is correct he's Thrown 105 11 on 11 passes and he's Completed 67 of them for around a 64 Point something percentage sorry I'm a Journalist not a math major But The internet you know he had like kind Of a light workload yes on Sunday but on Saturday as of Saturday he completed 65 Of a hundred passes and I I think That's right where you want it to be Especially as he's learning he's making The mistakes when he should be making

Those mistakes and he doesn't really Make the same mistake twice so I I think For the Panthers you should feel really Encouraged and if you think about some Of the drops that have happened in Training camp he's had like Saturday he Went 10 he went uh 7-15 but he took Three perfect passes that were dropped Two of which were for Touchdown so your Stat line looks a little bit different Right if you have everybody uh they used To drop passes they lived through Ted Ginn dropped his touchdown Pastor Cam Newton they've seen some of that but Michael are you concerned looking at him Get hit does he get does he get hit and You guys all kind of go you know is he Going to get up well he hasn't gotten Hit in practice because he can't right Right but yeah I mean look I when I was Watching his film I mean it was like Watching a tank run over like a small Dog it was like a very you know it's Like a jarring image Um yeah and he's this tiny guy there's No question about it if a guy like Um you know Chris Jones from the chief Sacks him it's going to look horrifying Especially if he falls on him that said I mean he played in the SEC like I I Just I mean I I don't The Panthers clearly aren't concerned But I I don't we won't know until it Happens right like it's a difficult

Situation to kind of project because so Many things have to factor in he was Only injured one game in college and Nick Saban blamed it on on Bryce for Trying to do too much what's right and So I I think when we look at his injury Um Concerns he's just gonna have to be Smart with the ball he hasn't really run It a lot uh we were in practice the Other day and a fan behind me uh after He took off for an unusual run for two Yards and one out of bounds and the guy Yelled out something in the effect of Man I never want to see that guy run Ever like uh and I thought that was Really funny but I think it is Indicative of of the concern of you know He is a smaller guy but I gotta tell you He's confident in the pocket he doesn't Really get rattled there are times where He'll make a poor decision or a poor Throw but everybody does that Peyton Manning had several interceptions his Rookie year I mean uh 28 of them yeah He's gonna learn listen like I've been Asked on radio shows if I'm concerned About like he had five straight Practices with an interception I once Covered Blake Bortles who threw five Interceptions in one training camp Practice and months later he was in the AFC Championship game yeah Um I put my my belief in tracking stuff

As you can see in in our breakdowns Every day of practice is for contacts Right and and so we I can get context on Every interception I can get contacts on Every completion and incompletion I can Understand what's going on now I don't Have all the contacts right like I don't Know the play call but it's all about Context this isn't about judging Bryce young in his performance because We won't know what he how he can perform Until he actually takes meaningful snaps Like even the preseason is going to be a Little bit of a dress rehearsal so I'm Interested to see how all this turns out You talk about young having some Interceptions is that to mean the Defense has been getting the better the Offensively yeah and that's not unusual Typically the off is trying to install Uh a bajillion plays and the defense is Really mostly reacting in their Shell's Coverage or or you know playing to their Technique there's so much more that goes Into offense defense it's more Reactionary and that's why I'm really Interested to see what happens during These joint practices the next few days Uh and the preseason game because Bryce You know I'm not saying he has like you Know when you play poker with the same Guy every weekend you know what his Tales are right I'm not saying Bryce has Tells but when you've gone up against

The same guy every single practice yeah There are Tendencies right and so I Think I I think when we look at This whole summer everything's been Building towards this they've been Installing plays they've been practicing How to practice right now they get to go Up against the defense that has Quentin Williams and Carl Lawson DJ Reed sauce Gardener Um Jordan White had uh Jermaine Johnson Willie McDonald who they loved here Um it could have been an option if he Fell in the first round he didn't he got Drafted in the teens but he could have Been a trade-up option and we're this is A completely different off season right Um He is going to have the deck stacked Against him let's see if he can be Alabama Bryce and and kind of move Around the pocket and do some of the Interesting stuff one note I will give You he is not testing the field deep It's something he has not done at all It's almost like they're trying to Process the short to intermediate game Because they know he can throw the ball Downfield they know he has escapability And he can improvise it's almost like They're like retooling him from a short To intermediate range because all Throughout the off season program he

Made these incredible downfield strikes He hasn't really tested that uh yet he Only has about four touchdowns if I'm Concerned about my offensive line I Don't want to hold a ball to let a guy Run down the field I mean maybe that'll Well sure and to that point on Saturday Taylor Martin got a the right tackle got A day off and boy could you tell They were uh Eco Leota the undrafted Rookie got at least three pressures at Least two would-be sacks uh Kobe Jones Got pressures Brian Burns was relentless Like that was a real I mean like the Fact that Bryce even completed as many Passes as he did I mean it was pretty Astonishing but Um yeah I mean there are questions I Mean I think this offensive line was a Little overrated last year but now not Having their best offensive lineman and Right Guard awesome Corbett it makes Things interesting I think Cade maze has Done a pretty good job filling in the Second year does Corbin come back soon Or you think it'll be like mid-season Well he said yesterday Um Scott did a story on him today check Out in the in the Charlotte observer.com Wonderful website one dollar subs Um You know he said that he wasn't sure if He was going to be back in week one he Was pretty sure he wouldn't be

Um I'm anticipating him being on the Populist uh entering the season and if That were to happen that's just a guess Just my vibe Um not a report but uh if that were to Happen he'd miss the first four games of The regular season but I think that's Fine I mean you don't want to rush him Back too early he's not obviously going To play in the preseason so you're going To want to build him up and I think that That's the loudest short passes if he Doesn't play the first four weeks yeah It's going to be tough that's why I'm Interested to see Kade Mays versus Quinn And Williams Um because that's a matchup that's kind Of scary on paper Um you know I think they have some Pretty good Edge rushers and Carl loss And McDonald and and Johnson uh they'll Be able to throw guys at him Solomon Thomas is a veteran who can move in and Out of the lineup that's gonna be a nice Challenge for Brady Christensen Um the Jets are stacked and Robert Sawler calls a great defense I covered Him as when he was a linebackers coach In Jacksonville uh I covered Nate Hackett their offensive coordinator for Several years in Jacksonville Um I know he's caught a lot of criticism For what went down in Denver but he's Also the guy that hired idro Ebro who

Became a prime candidate as a defensive Coordinator one year later again after Just one year as a defensive coordinator In Denver Let's talk about the receivers if Bryce Is going to have a big season these guys Are going to throw it onto the ball one Guy who looked good late last year under Steve Wilkes was Terrence Marshall I saw You had him on Twitter making a really Pretty uh toe Tapper in accordance Zone The other day what are you seeing out of Him is he going to have a breakout Season I think he's a guy who's primed For it I mean you know the other day Frank Reich said that he could get off Press coverage he's fast he's got good Size all this other stuff the problem With him last year really was he wasn't Really playing to his size he had one Like garbage time touchdown against the Bengals and that awful blowout in Cincinnati but he did average uh quite a Bit of yards per care uh per catch I Think it was around 17 yards which is Among tops in the league he's a guy Who's got good size at six two he's 200 Pounds he can you know he's one of those LSU guys like he's got great speed great Size great length it's just putting it All together DJ shark was a guy who Matured very quickly in Jacksonville who Also went to LSU and that's very Comparable trades

Um I think that year three could be be The year now they drafted Jonathan Mingo In the second round those two guys have Kind of ebbed and flowed in momentum Like Jonathan Mingo had like a really Good first three practices and Terrace Marshall you kind of forgot even played For the team and then since then it's Been all Terrace Marshall all the time And Mingos kind of had some some Blunders I brought up the drops the Other day uh Bryce young threw like an Epically perfect pass into the end zone To Mingo and he dropped it like it was It was rough but like I think they're Gonna rotate at that X position I think DJ shark is greatly expect exceeded Expectations after signing a one year Five million dollar deal I mean he is Beating guys deep his ability to track The ball is just fun like yeah Scott Really raved about him last week uh Talked about you know he's kind of been Bryce's uh you know blanket you know his Uh his favorite blanket they could Always go to yeah but my look you put a Note out on Twitter we got some Questions for Kay and I want to shoot Them to you number one how does miles Sanders look so far he's a good he's run With authority he had a bit of a tweak The other day uh in practice for an Undisclosed body part Um but then returned on Sunday he's a

Guy that just I mean he's a one-cut Runner who can catch the ball he's had Some struggles in the past but he's Looked good as a receiver in this pra This stretch of practices excuse me And I think he's gonna be the he's not Gonna be a Bell cow because that's not What Frank Reich believes in it's I Would do Staley believes and it's not What Thomas Brown believes in he's a guy Who is just gonna touch the ball a lot And I think he's set up to succeed here How did the Panthers use uh you two are Gross medals now after the signing of Johnson of Justin Houston so they're Kind of just trying to figure out where He fits he's a really awkward fit for For three defense but as like most Defenses in the league they will have 4-3 looks Um you know they want to throw as much As they can at opposing offices they Want to be multiple So which is coaches speak for hey we Just want to use a bunch of different Lineups um but like I said he's kind of An awkward fit for a 3-4 defense Um they have him kind of rushing inside A little bit they have him rushing Outside when they have the 4-3 looks It'll be interesting to see how this Move impacts them because really like They're in a spot where they can just Rotate Mark he's Haynes and Justin

Houston opposite Brian Burns and just Kind of go with minimal young developing Depth behind him it'll be interesting to See what happens in the preseason and if Yitzer grossmontes gets moved We got this question from three Different people can Dion Jones become a Defensive starter for the Panthers this Season I think they'll have different Packages where it'll depend on the match Up ijo evero seems like a really Cerebral guy and a guy who kind of wants To mix and match Personnel right now They have Frankie luvu and Um uh Shaq Thompson starting inside I Think Citing Houston kind of helps them Because well Lulu can move outside he's Not really a natural Edge rusher he's More of a Blitzer they're two different Personality types to to the position They're two different aspects as you Know Um and this allows Frankie to stay Inside and I think his ability to Blitz Makes this defense better because you Know know where he's coming from as that 11th man I think there will be packages where you Know they do run kind of a 4-3 look and It's It puts Dion Jones on the field more I Think they really like his range he's Impressed the last couple of days and I

Think they like what he does in coverage I could see them going to him as a dime Linebacker originally that seemed like That was like going to be a Jeremy chin Role I actually think Dion Jones would Be much better off in that position Um and then you have camouflage Hill who Is just made play after play during Training camp he's a special teams Ace I Think they go four or five deep at Inside linebacker and I think neon Jones Will get a lot of playing time whether Whether he starts games or not I don't Really know if that matters Right yeah so As long as you're out on the field when It counts Um this the last question comes from Somebody who's probably traumatized by Seeing Mike Evans run by the Panthers Over and over again last year against Tampa Bay but if JC horn goes down with Another injury is it all going to fall Apart in the second day Foreign I Think as of right now CJ Henderson's had The best Camp of any of the corners Which is a really great sign Um you know he had his fifth year option Uh declined and he said that he came Back with a new Edge Um I think they feel good about him Keith Taylor who uh had a really rough Game against the Steelers if you

Remember last year yeah I remember Um he's playing very well to his size I Think Jonathan Cooley the cornerbacks Coach and obviously D'Angelo Hall the Assistant cornerbacks coach have done a Really good job with this group Stanley Thomas Oliver is a guy who's got Versatility so I think they like the Group I don't think they love it from a Damn point the standpoint but I do think Having CJ Henderson is kind of like a 2B Starter behind JC horn and Dante Jackson's really Important look JC Horn's a top 10 Corner In this league anytime you lose the top 10 Corner you're gonna you're gonna take Lumps right like Dante Jackson going Down I don't know if they're as like Even close to as concerned JC Horn's Really the crown jewel of that secondary But I think they have a really good Safety Tandem and Von Bell and Xavier Woods people have raved about their Communication skills their ability to Put people in the right places and I Think that does help especially if you Do need to go to depth Corners Um it'll help improve the communication Back there so I don't think it'll be as Bad but I think losing JC horn is just Like going to be nuclear to this defense If that were to happen again Nuclear is not a really good answer all Right before we get out of here we got

To go to my favorite part of the show It's time for case takes what do you Have Mike well I figured we could talk About three guys heading into the Preseason that I think are really really Interesting and I think the roster spots Really hang in the balance of how well They play so the first guy is undrafted Uh pass rusher equaliota out of who's From Asheville uh went to Northwestern Auburn he's done a really really nice Job this week I don't know that any Undrafted players help themselves out in Panthers Camp as much as Leota has done Um he had three pressures during Fan Fest he had at least two would-be sacks The very next practice he's just kind of Been everywhere and I think he's a guy Who will play well when the pads come on And the the hints are live Um another guy that I really like on the Edge is Kobe Jones he's a practice squad Holdover went to Mississippi State he Bounced around a little bit over the Last couple of years looking for a home Um he's really impressed me and Sometimes you get to the point where you You have only like three guys who are Going to play a lot but you have three Guys that you feel like are roster Rosterable behind them and so you say Look we only want to keep Five Guys what Do we do with this other guy sometimes You can if you need help at corner let's

Say and another team could potentially Cut another Corner maybe you skip the Waiver wire and you swap guys right Um he's a guy that I think can earn his Way on to a 53-man roster even if it's Not the Panthers with a really strong Preseason and then let's talk about the Offensive line right we brought we Brought that up earlier Nash Jensen an Undrafted rookie from North Dakota State Who was getting Raves from the coaching Staff even before they arrived in Training camp that dude is nasty he is Like an old school like Jordan Gross Style offensive lineman he wants to run You over and affect your life I mean he Is like a he is a bulldozer we talked About the tank running over Bryce young This dude is a just smaller he's an old School dude and I I really dig that it Seems like the coaching staff really Does too Um you know Chandler Zavala has been out Uh a practice up until a couple of days Ago the fourth round pick with a Hamstring injury and I think the Jensen's done a really nice job of Taking advantage of extra reps uh he's a Guy who you know look this is a team That had Um You know they've had offensive linemen In the past go from undrafted free Agents to really really strong players

I'm trying to remember his name my brain Is just like not working Um their old left guard who started in The Super Bowl for them he signed with Jacksonville while I was there oh Andrew Was it Andrew Norman Norwood Andrew Norwell Andrew Norwell Right oh well Wait I gotta look this up because this Is going to drive me crazy now Um But uh yeah I mean I I think that This is a guy who has some upside that Can play really well and you know it Helps to have you know some of the yep Andrew Norwell look at me oh you got it Yeah I mean look he he went from being You know an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State to being An All-Pro for a Super Bowl team and I Think that that's kind of impressive I'm Not saying that's jansen's Jensen's Upside but I do think he is a guy who I Was gonna say the fourth round pick NC State kid a little nervous well you know What it's very interesting you say that Because it does kind of feel like You know some of these guys that we've Just talked about have put a lot of Pressure on third round pick DJ Johnson And fourth round pick uh you know Chandler Zavala and you know equallyota And Nash Jensen are both undrafted free Agents so that's kind of interesting

Yeah competition competition Um before we get out of here I asked Mike last week Bucky Brooks thinks the Panthers are going to win the NFC South 30 seconds what do you think I think they will be very competitive Uh I think the Saints are a little bit Better uh just because they have some Familiarity with the staff I think it'll Be really competitive to the end but I Have the Panthers right now before the Preseason going nine and eight And I think and I think you're gonna Need 10 wins to win this division unlike Last year Not an eight he says all right that There it is for Mike K week three of Processing blue make sure you follow Like subscribe wherever you get your Podcast make sure you come back next Week and we'll be talking about some Real football next week yeah yeah I mean Depending on your opinion of the Preseason A little bit of real football I'm Langston That's Mike this is processing Blue we'll catch you next week Foreign