The Panthers’ assistant general manager offers some insight into the team’s impending roster cuts.
How's everybody doing good yeah I was just gonna if you guys are ready I Was just gonna kind of start out like From a Scouting perspective just kind of wanted To give you like a little snapshot of What we're doing right now Um You know we're building our preseason Board right now Um there should be 1200 guys or so that Are going to get cut at the cut down uh We're gonna we're up to like 1400 Reports so what we're doing right now is We're we're building our board and we're Stacking it by position Um and then from there obviously we'll Talk about it as a staff and we'll you Know kind of We'll look and see who we're really Interested in and who we're thinking About claiming at the cut down so right Now we're just writing a ton of reports Our Scouts are doing a great job and uh You know we're just really excited about The 53 cut down in that whole process Um So you know we're calling other teams Too so basically our Scouts we we split The We split teams up by Scouts and they're Going to call the teams and they're Going to figure out like where their Needs are where their Surplus is any
Players that they're willing to trade so They're going to do things like that so We're going to cover the whole landscape Or nothing's really going to catch us by Surprise it's the way that we look at it So Um Yeah we're just you know we're excited About our roster and you know this whole 53-man cut down and Um we feel like we can really add some Players and make this roster better uh Make it more competitive uh we like our Team now but we're always trying to get Better we're always trying to upgrade And we're going to do that by any means So with that I'll uh open it up for Questions Different is the job this year with all 1200 of those guys coming free at the Same time as opposed to 300 or so Earlier in the rest of them on the final Day I you know I actually like it a Little better from the cut down Standpoint I like it better just because You have them all at once they're They're out there and our reports are Done it gives us a little more time to Evaluate them and you know our Scouts to To watch the tape and put the reports in So either way it'd be fine but you know I like it this way I think I think it'll Be more efficient for us Upgrade the roster any specific
Positions that you think that this Roster needs upgrading out right now you Know I think our philosophy is we try to Upgrade everywhere you know we want to Make this the most competitive roster in The NFL and you know one way of doing That is to have great depth and and add To the competition and you know so That's what we're going to do and uh With the trade up to one and your drafts Pick inventory as well as kind of the Depth you have right now how do you Weigh maybe jumping the gun and trading For a guy maybe with the player for Player trade or a graphic trade as Opposed to waiting it out on the waiver Wire Um you know I think I think for us you Know at this point we we don't want to Give away picks I think the big thing For us is let's keep our picks Um you know and let's let's be efficient And let's trust our scouting process and When waivers come out again we have Those players identified and and we're Going to be ready to you know claim a Guy if need be You guys have like a top 10 waiver Priority Um how helpful is that when you are Trying to figure out how many claims you Want to put in and your evaluating Player yeah I think you know it gives You the first bite of the Apple if you
Want to say so you know we're in that Top ten so more than likely we're going To get who we want from a waiver Perspective so it makes it a lot easier And hopefully you know we get some of Those targeted players if they do get Released when you're factoring in the Roster uh there's obviously different Cap situations do you have to manage Veteran players obviously become Guaranteed after week one how do you Weigh that in your roster evaluation Yeah I think um you definitely got to Think about it you've got to weigh all Those those things Um you know you don't want to get stuck With a player and have to pay them all Year or you know a veteran player that's You know has an injury history and then He gets hurt and you know you knew that You shouldn't shouldn't have done it but You did it so all those things are Weighed throughout this process where We're thinking about all those little Things and we'll be prepared are there Some injury situations on the team right Now that Had you looking for maybe specific Positions that could help in case those Players aren't ready yeah you know I Think any time you know there's injuries You know every team's dealing with Injuries right now but I think Everybody's kind of in the same
Everybody's in the same boat and you Know from our perspective we're just Looking to get better as a team so we're It doesn't matter what position it is And where we are from uh roster count or Who's hurt we're just trying to get Better and find better players and and Upgrade players from our depth Standpoint From an undrafted free agent standpoint Are there any guys who have kind of uh Gone beyond your initial projections Yeah you know there's there's a few guys We like Um you know I don't really want to give Away the secrets because other teams you Know may be watching this but Um you know there's some guys that have Done a really good job for us on drafted Wise and um you know that's really a Credit to our Scouts they did a really Good job through the process and Undrafted free agency so uh yeah we're Excited about some of those guys with The veteran guy You you have the opportunity to Potentially cut them and bring them back With the guy who's not invested better In you subject them to waivers Is that something you have to weigh Heavily when you're kind of figuring out That initial group Yeah um you know I think uh we do have Some veteran guys on our roster and and
Those are all things again that Scott Myself uh coach Reich we're all gonna Weigh and uh we're gonna do what's best For the team You guys went out the first week of free Agency signed to Sean signed Tuttle in Terms of kind of rebuilding a 3-4 Defense I mean I know there's still some Flocks in that defensive line what are You specifically looking for what are You trying to provide a Vero in that Process yeah I think you know talking to Evro just about about the defense and The philosophy you know he does want Those bigger Longer Defenders guys that Can take up space uh they're called half A gap so Um he's just looking for those bigger Longer bodies and obviously once you Know he wants athletes so I think that's Kind of what we're doing along along the Front we're just going to Target those Type of guys along those lines what was The story with McCall this week yeah you Know uh Marquan did a good job for us You know he came came back in shape Um you know he's a great kid and you Know I just think it really came down The fit Um just talking to the new staff talk to Evero and talking to the coaches we just Felt like it was it was time for us to Kind of move on and give him an Opportunity to you know find another
Home so I think that's why we did the Did this now is just to kind of give him That opportunity fit hell you know just Fit in our in our scheme you know I Think uh I think you won you know you Want guys that fit your scheme and what The coaches want and you know he he Wasn't you know he wasn't doing what They really wanted so I think from that Standpoint we just had to move on Frank Said yesterday that like one preseason Game could potentially change like the Fortunes of a player from a scouting Perspective how do you buy into that and And what do you have an example of that In the past well I think just even like This this game coming up against Detroit Like there's going to be guys you know The roster isn't set so I mean there's There's a lot of guys in the back end of The roster the 53 rosters we as it Shapes out that you know This game could be life or death for Them you know from a perspective where They're competing against somebody at Their own position so they got to come Out and and compete and we're looking Forward to see them compete on Friday What's impressed you the most about Bryce young since you began the Evaluation process to now and why do you Why do you feel like you guys will put Him in a good position for success You know Bryce is just an impressive
Individual I think first and foremost Him off the field just the kind of Person he is the kind of human being he Is you know that really makes you fall In love with the kid and then obviously You can see what he does on tape Um you know he's he's special you know He's got the pocket presidents he has The Poise he has the accuracy the Anticipation Um he has all those things you want and You know this isn't Bryce's show you Know he he he's he's not doing this Alone he's not we're not dependent on Him to go out and make every single play That's why we bought guys in like Thieland and Miles Sanders and DJ Chark And those type of guys so this isn't Something that he has to do alone and You know it's not all on his shoulders For more quarterbacks on the roster now How do you with the final preseason game Coming up how do you see that position Playing out you know I think uh in terms Of play time that's up to Coach Wright So I don't I don't know what his play Time is going to be this weekend but Um you know again it's a competition Whoever's out there playing you know We're going to evaluate and you know if We decide to keep a third quarterback or Dump you know we're gonna That's going to be the decision you know For Scott and Coach Rick
Dan is the luxury of having a Second kicker who's done pretty well This preseason could you maybe flip flip For a pick for a team a lot of teams Seem to be looking you know I I think You know that's something that can Definitely be talked about we haven't Talked about doing that but he's Definitely he's done a good job for us From our perspective Eddie's our kicker And when he comes back it's it's his job Again and you know if anything it gives Us a good emergency picker in the future What I'd ask you two about How much did um your Cardinals guys Adrian and Sean former cartons guys Were they bang the table for him or how Did y'all kind of how did he get on your Radar I think it was just um you know When we generate lists Um during training camp we had some Injuries of the position so we generated Some lists and he you know he's a big Strong physical guy that we that we Liked and obviously Adrian knows him a Little bit and you know he came in and He had a great workout for us and you Know it was really an easy easy Evaluation and you know we swooped them Up right away You obviously part of the valuation of Hickey when you got drafted in last year Um you saw him progress there what what Do you feel like he's grown in over the
Last year what does he still need to Improve in because I hope his past Protection has gotten a little bit of Criticism here lately you know icky's One of the hardest workers you'll ever Be around and you know not just hickey But everybody they're striving to be Great every day Um you know icky's one of those guys He's going to come out if he makes a Mistake he's going to correct it Um I have no concerns to do with hickey At all and you know I think Cole correct Anything and and I have full confidence In coach campman too What's your view on your nickel position Right now Yeah I mean you know chin chins are Nickel right now as as you guys know and Um you know that that's something Um you know moving forward that Obviously we're gonna we're gonna look At and we're gonna evaluate every Position and see where we need and you Know that could be a spot that we um That we look at moving forward but you Know if we feel good with some of the Guys depending on this last preseason Game then them will roll with where We're at right now You guys have signed a lot of veterans From a scouting perspective you guys Obviously want to develop Talent how do You weigh that balance
You know I think the veteran thing Um you know that really comes down to Obviously they're good players but I Think we needed leadership in our in our Locker room and you know just on our Team and you know bringing the Justin Houston's and the thielens in and you Know the vet the vets that we saw and I Think it's more about the leadership Than anything All right Thanks thanks a lot
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