Team news: Carolina Panthers | Page 12

Sam LaPorta has been taking first-team reps since Day 1 and doesn't look out of place at all. He's still got a lot to learn, but all indications are that he's a quick study and his receiving skills are really advanced for a young tight end. He's going to play a big role in this offense starting Week 1.

Related Players: Brock Wright, James Mitchell

You love to see it. For a team that set a tight end TD record despite trading away T.J. Hockenson halfway through the season, fantasy managers are expectedly excited for the rookie's fantasy prospects. Detroit TEs went for 784 yards on 93 targets last year. La Porta is firmly on streaming radars right out of the gate.

Panthers free-agent acquisition Miles Sanders is back —he hopes— to being a three-down back. Sanders, now 26, is confident that reuniting with running backs coach Duce Staley, who was a Pederson assistant in Philly, will help him re-emerge as a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Related Players: Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blackshear

Sanders bottomed out as a pass-catcher in 2022, with new career lows in receptions (20), yards (78), and receptions for first downs (two). He's really got nowhere to go but up after finishing the season, ranking 49th/49 qualifying backs with a 0.28 yards per route run mark. Leaving a team that has a quarterback that is prone to taking off with the ball on third downs should help, but his efficiency marks last year were stark. The good news is, he doesn't have a ton of competition for backfield touches with the way the depth chart is set up at the moment. Sanders is currently ranked as a mid-tier RB2.

The Lions will be patient with Sam LaPorta, but he’s already shown enough physical tools to warrant immediate snaps. If the mental side catches up, he could be the starting tight end in Week 1.

Related Players: Brock Wright, James Mitchell

Rookie tight ends notoriously take a long time to get up to speed, but if LaPorta is starting in Week 1, he finds himself in a great offensive environment. Lions tight ends set the receiving touchdown record last season, despite trading away TE1 T.J. Hockenson.

The Carolina Panthers have elevated rookie Bryce Young to the No. 1 quarterback spot, a move coach Frank Reich said Thursday is "the next step" in the top pick of this year's draft, becoming the Week 1 starter.

These are all semantics at this point. The only thing we were worried about was Young coming in and having a terrible camp, and it doesn't look like he is trending in that direction. He should be drafted as the Panthers' QB1, which puts him on the radar in 2QB and SuperFlex leagues.

The Cowboys have agreed to a deal with RB Ronald Jones, who visited The Star Monday. Jones spent last year with KC after a four-year run with Tampa Bay.

Related Players: Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis

Ronald Jones logged 40 snaps on a 2022 Chiefs team that was looking for a consistent answer at the running back position all year long. There is a very good chance that Jones is back in free agency by the time Summer comes along.

Bears are signing former Panthers’ RB D’Onta Foreman to a 1-year, $3 million deal.

Related Players: Khalil Herbert, Chuba Hubbard

The writing was on the wall for Foreman after the Miles Sanders signing in Carolina, as they both operate in the same part of the running game. Foreman, in turn, will likely operate as a Diet David Montgomery in Chicago, but Khalil Herbert should still be getting a healthy share of the work.

Miles Sanders is headed to the Carolina Panthers on a four-year deal. The exact specifics of the contract have not been revealed yet.

(update: the deal is purportedly for $25M over four years, no word on guaranteed money yet.)

Related Players: Chuba Hubbard, D'Onta Foreman

Even with the very good year D'Onta Foreman, this likely closes the possibility of the team re-signing him. Foreman and Sanders would be redundant assets, so for now it looks like a two-headed backfield of Sanders and Chuba Hubbard with Sanders acting as the 1a. It's not a great spot for fantasy purposes but at the least, it offers a veteran presence for their soon-to-be No. 1 quarterback.

The Panthers are expected to sign former first-round pick Hayden Hurst to a three-year deal.

Related Players: Ian Thomas, Tommy Tremble

Hurst had a one-year "prove it" deal in Cincinnati and delivered, accruing 400+ yards on 50+ catches through 13 games. Carolina will be his fourth home in five seasons, but he provides an offensive crutch for the Pathers' future rookie.

Veteran free-agent QB Andy Dalton is expected to reach an agreement on a two-year, $10 million deal that includes $8 million fully guaranteed with the Carolina Panthers. The contract max value is $17 million.

Dalton had a bit of a career resurgence with New Orleans and makes for a good backup with Carolina. If for some reason, the Panthers don't feel comfortable rolling out their No. 1 pick for Week 1; there are plenty of worse options as a bridge quarterback.

Former Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers and the Raiders reached an agreement on a 3-year, $33M deal that includes $21 million guaranteed.

Related Players: Hunter Renfrow

Davante Adams' role in the offense is safe, but Jakobi Meyers is a reliable possession receiver who will assuredly eat into Hunter Renfrow's work out of the slot. Another Patriots tie-in for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and head coach Josh McDaniels