How Marty Hurney will evaluate Carolina's preseason roster

[Sir Purr]

"Anybody who goes through the opt-out process puts a lot of thought in it," Hurney said. "The safety of everybody in this building and the safety of their families comes first to us."


Reducing the roster to 80 players over the weekend also eliminated the Panthers' kicking competition between Joey Slye and Graham Gano, who was released last week after coming to Carolina midway through the 2012 season.


"It was an extremely hard decision because we think the world of Graham. He's a very talented kicker," Hurney said. "But we decided to go with Joey."


If there's a positive in this whole situation, it's how many players the Panthers could conceivably keep around after they cut to 53 in early September. Practice squads have increased from 10 to 16 players, and six of those will not have any of the usual service time restrictions. That means veterans with extensive experience can be on the practice squad if they're needed for the active roster at any time.


"I think you're thinking in different terms as far as not only a group of 53 but a group of 69, and that might be the biggest difference," Hurney said.


With so few opportunities for evaluation, players have to make a positive impression with every opportunity. Knowing the playbook is always essential, but it's likely even more significant in 2020.


"We've already evaluated players by virtual meetings all offseason," Hurney said. "And I think Matt Rhule and his staff have done a tremendous job of getting guys up to speed with the virtual meetings, and then the way they teach out on the field."


Health and safety will remain the priority as everyone in the league navigates this unprecedented situation. But Hurney is staying flexible and open-minded in putting together the roster. Having spent a lot of time with the coaching staff on what personnel groups should look like, now the club has to make sure the players in the building are of that mold.


"That's the key personnel-wise for us, is just identifying the traits that fit the best into what we're trying to do," Hurney said. "We just have to continue to do that."