Ron Rivera says rookies will get first shot to fill cornerback openings
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The men who will replace Josh Norman and Charles Tillman were busy.
The Carolina Panthers had just ended a training camp practice, and Daryl Worley and James Bradberry – after a two-hour session under an unseasonably humid and cloudy sky – lugged the helmets and pads of veterans back to the locker room here at Wofford College.
Yes, the two players the Panthers are using to replace last year’s starting cornerback tandem haven’t played a down in the NFL.
“They’re in line to get an opportunity,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera told Paste BN Sports Thursday afternoon after practice. “Our first preseason game, they will probably start. The biggest thing is that we have given these guys a lot of reps. We have put them in position. We told them: ‘We’re going to live and die with you guys. We’re going to give you every opportunity to compete and be part of what we want to do.’ And they have responded. They have done a great job.”
That’s the strongest indication Rivera has given, to date, about Carolina’s plan at cornerback.
One week into training camp, it’s clear that Worley and Bradberry are Plan A.
Throughout practices, both have played first-team reps. Both have shown flashes. But both have also made mistakes.
Tillman was on his way to retirement and, after the Panthers rescinded Norman’s franchise tag in April, Carolina targeted Bradberry (No. 62 overall), Worley (No. 77 overall), and slot corner Zack Sanchez (No. 141 overall) in the draft.
And though Norman generated a breakout campaign in 2015, the team stresses it is moving on happy with the plan.
“I know everybody looks at me because I took his number,” Bradberry, No. 24, told Paste BN Sports. “But it hasn’t been a problem. No one brings him up. We always talk about what’s in the future, not in the past. We’re starting off new. We’re starting from scratch.”
Bradberry and Worley share some traits. Both are listed at 6-1, have 33⅜-inch arms, and above-average hand size. This suits them perfectly in Carolina’s zone-heavy defense.
Worley declared for the draft as a true junior out of West Virginia, after taking first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2015. Bradberry, meanwhile, was a four-year starter at Samford, where he earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors his senior year.
Despite the accolades, can a trio of rookies really fill in for Norman and Tillman?
“There’s some pressure involved, but coming in with him and Zack, it kind of relieves that pressure, because you’re going through that process with somebody else,” Worley told Paste BN Sports. “You’ve got somebody to lean on when you have questions, or when you feel uncomfortable.”
Carolina will also use utility corner Bené Benwikere and veteran Robert McClain as needed. Benwikere, who is returning from a broken leg suffered late last season, looked to be the favorite to start on the outside, but now appears headed for nickel duties.
“Of course I prefer to be (an) every down (cornerback),” Benwikere said. “Since I’ve been here I’ve kind of flip-flopped back and forth. The team has their own plans and however they may see fit, that’s how we’re going to go.”
It seemed like a crazy move. Why get rid of Norman? General manager Dave Gettleman cited the strength of the Panthers’ defensive front seven as the primary reason. It’s a philosophical difference. The Panthers simply don’t believe in investing the kind of money the Washington Redskins gave Norman this offseason – a five-year, $75 million contract – in a cornerback. Gettleman also needs to re-sign Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kawann Short, who could be a free agent after the season.
But for now, Carolina is looking to replicate exactly what it did to make Norman so wealthy: develop young and unheralded players into stars.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Dave, I really do, and this was the decision – moving forward – that had to be made,” Rivera said. “As much as I wish Josh was here – and this is not tampering, I just want to put that out there – as much as you say to yourself: ‘Man, this is where we could be (with Norman),’ we’re going to go forward. We’re going to have a plan. And we’re going to make the plan happen.”
***
Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes