CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers open the 2021 NFL regular season against the New York Jets on Sept. 12 at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers finished 2020 with a 5-11 record, third in the NFC South, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
This will be a chance for quarterback Sam Darnold, acquired in an offseason trade with the Jets, to prove himself immediately -- or prove New York was right in moving on from the third pick of the 2018 draft in favor of Zach Wilson.
The Panthers still have other questions, the biggest ones being whether Cameron Erving is the answer at left tackle and whether a defense with a lot of good pieces, but thin at linebacker, can come together as a unit -- and whether they have enough depth to remain competitive over 17 games.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Here's a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Will Grier
The jury is still out on Darnold, who was good but not great during training camp. Neither Walker nor Grier has done anything to forge a gap as the clear No. 2 -- or made an argument for the Panthers to keep them both. The third quarterback still could be on another roster.