We’ve made it this far. Three weeks of training camp in Spartanburg; three games of preseason speculation; over a month of football that doesn’t count is ready to give way to Week One hand-wringing about whether Kyle Shanahan has turned the 49ers into an offensive juggernaut. But we’ve got one more preseason game to watch before that happens, and we’re here to tell you what you’ll want to keep an eye on as Carolina Panthers play the Pittsburgh Steelers; a lot of pundits and football fans say that with the starters expected to get the night off, the fourth preseason game doesn’t matter.
Tell that to Darrel Young. Or Zack Sanchez. Or Harrison Butker.
The minutes they log on Thursday night in what will most likely be a half-empty Bank of America Stadium filled with Terrible Towels may end up determining their futures with not only the Panthers, but the 31 other teams that will inevitably come calling on Saturday when 37 Panthers go from employed to looking for a job. Imagine the most important job interview of your entire life; you’ve made it through the first three rounds of testing only to see that the message boards about middle management are screaming in all caps that the final test doesn’t matter and the interview itself shouldn’t even exist because it’s a waste of time. The statistics may not count, but don’t argue that the game doesn’t matter. Here are the players the game will mean the most to:
Zack Sanchez/Cole Luke
Zack Sanchez
The most heated and closest battle as we head down the stretch is between Zack Sanchez and Cole Luke for the final cornerback slot. The most interesting part of this is that good play by either could actually lead to whichever player doesn’t make the Panthers being signed to the bottom of the roster or practice squad for another team. While Sanchez has the lead, a good showing by Luke could push him ahead of the 2016 fifth round pick Sanchez, who didn’t make the opening day roster a year ago. Just as against Jacksonville, don’t watch for completions, watch for open receivers; a completion doesn’t necessarily mean the cornerback was out of position, just as an incompletion doesn’t indicate good coverage.
Graham Gano/Harrison Butker
Harrison Butker
While sources are indicating the Panthers are gauging interest in one or both of the kickers, most likely their performance on Thursday won’t be as important as their overall body of work this preseason. While Gano has missed a kick this preseason, it still seems as if Rivera trusts him more than seventh round pick Harrison Butker; Gano was leading the kicking competition all preseason according to the head coach until Monday’s practice, when he said that as far as he was concerned, the kickers were “even”.
Andy Lee/Michael Palardy
Andy Lee
Palardy has slightly outperformed Lee thus far this preseason, but Lee was much better last season, averaging 49.1 yards per punt (40.4 net) with 18 inside the 20 over Palardy’s 42.5 average (37.9 net) and 13 inside the 20 on the same number (36) of punts. That’s a much larger sample size than the past three games, but any misstep could cost one of these punters the job.
Darrel Young/Alex Armah
While the fullback role may be transitioning to tight end Ed Dickson, a good night on special teams could boost either of these players onto the active roster; their competition may no longer be with the other running backs but with special teams aces Ben Jacobs and Jared Norris. While rookie Alex Armah seems to be on a pathway to the practice squad, the Panthers may keep him on the 53 man roster to protect him from other teams claiming him on waivers; special teams seems to be the best way for both of these fullbacks to contribute to the team, so they need to show it against Pittsburgh. Their plays at fullback will help their cases, but should not be when you should be watching them.
Kaelin Clay
Kaelin Clay is in the same boat as the fullbacks, in that a good showing on special teams could perhaps boost him onto the roster, although it is unlikely the Panthers keep six wide receivers. But flashing on special teams with a big return (especially in the struggling kickoff return game) can’t hurt for the speedy wide receiver, who may be auditioning for either the Panthers or another team’s practice squad.
Dezmen Southward/Damian Parms
S Damian Parms
While the Panthers may decide to address their safety needs in free agency Saturday or Sunday, one of these two could make a case to be the fourth safety on the roster with a strong performance against the Steelers. If LJ McCray is active, he’ll be on this list as well. Look for where they are on the field during run plays (missed tackles will be a death knell for either) and passes over the middle. A big play for a Steelers tight end up the seam while they’re on the field is not a good sign. The coaches want them to use their physicality, so one big hit could mean the difference between the practice squad and the active roster.
Who else will you be watching this Thursday?
