Panthers OTA observations: Ian Thomas’ ‘tremendous’ offseason, Robby Anderson returning soon?

Ian Thomas was always going to have big shoes to fill.

After two years of sitting behind Greg Olsen — only starting when the Pro Bowl tight end dealt with injuries — Thomas got his big shot in 2020, an opportunity to take command of the starting role in a brand new offensive scheme.

Instead, in an unconventional year filled with a shortened offseason program, Thomas did not put together a productive season. Of his 31 targets, he caught 20 for 145 yards and a touchdown. The 2018 fourth-round pick averaged just 9.1 yards per game and 0.3 yards per route run in an offense with a need for a solid receiving tight end.

A year later, following the second organized team activity open to the media, coach Matt Rhule called Thomas’ offseason one of the most “tremendous” on the team. For Thomas, who turns 25 years old June 6, the difficulties of the virtual offseason program took a toll on his development.

“Doing (the offseason program) in person rather than virtual was a big step for me, because virtually ... I just wasn’t really feeling it at the time,” Thomas said. “Staying in tune with being locked in through a computer or through an iPad, and getting the reps and I guess learning the little things of the offense, was really off to me last year.

“This year was a lot easier because I can actually hear it through someone face-to-face and actually talk through it on the field, so that was a big difference.”

Last year had its difficulties for people around the world, and Thomas was far from the only person to find virtual learning a challenge. On top of that, he shared that he did lose some families members to COVID-19 in the past 15 months. Despite that, Thomas was not looking to make excuses for his performance last year.

“Football is football, you have to go out there and play every Sunday and no one’s going to feel bad for you if you don’t know the playbook as well, if you’re not playing as well,” Thomas said. “I took that upon myself to make myself better as a player.”

The Panthers tight end room doesn’t currently have an obvious starter to pair with new quarterback Sam Darnold. There’s Thomas, entering the final year of his rookie contract, free agent addition Dan Arnold, who hasn’t put up the flashiest numbers yet in his career, and third-round pick Tommy Tremble, who has more of a blocker at Notre Dame.

That opens up an opportunity, which Thomas seems to have at least started to take advantage of. He has lost some weight and as a result feels faster and more explosive. There will be priority placed on someone being able to help in the middle of the field. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel was the go-to player in that area last year, but he signed a three-year, $34.5 million deal with Washington in free agency.

“I think Ian has had a tremendous offseason,” Rhule said. “He looks explosive, he looks athletic. You’re talking about a guy that’s really had a good offseason, I would say it would be Ian Thomas. He’s more comfortable with what he’s doing.

“He catches 40 or 50 balls every day from us. So he has a chance every every rep that we have (with tight ends coach Brian Angelichio) out there, like do this. And so I just think for him coming from one system into another system last year, he was just kind of taking it as he came. And now he has a chance to really, really delve into the details of what we do.”

Thomas still has much to prove, especially with him scheduled to become a free agent in 2022. After the Panthers compiled some of the worst tight end receiving numbers in the league last year, the big Olsen-sized shoes remain wide-open holes.

Notes from OTAs

▪ Of the 90 players on the roster, wide receiver Robby Anderson and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones were the only ones absent from the voluntary OTAs Wednesday.

Jones was present last week, with some players missing days here and there such as defensive tackles Daviyon Nixon and Bravvion Roy, who were both back at practice after missing the day open to the media last week. Anderson, however, has remained absent throughout the offseason programs.

He has been in the Miami-area working out, and while rumors have swirled about his status, Rhule said: “I have no reason to think” that Anderson will not be present for the three-day mandatory minicamp in two weeks. Players cannot be fined for absences until that time and no money is involved yet with Anderson not having any workout bonuses in his contract.

▪ Brian Burns, Jeremy Chinn, Troy Pride Jr., Yetur Gross-Matos, Trent Scott, Marken Michel, Terrace Marshall and Chuba Hubbard were among the players limited in their participation to various extents. Burns (shoulder) and Chinn (knee) continue to recover from offseason procedures and have not participated in team drills, but both said Wednesday that they feel good. Left tackle Greg Little was back to full participation after being limited last week.

Hubbard suffered a soft tissue injury during the offseason training program, and the team is taking things purposely slowly with Marshall, the second-round pick.

“We want to get (Terrace) super healthy,” Rhule said. “We came up with a plan to just get him ready for training camp. He’s done a good job in the meetings, a lot of different walk-throughs and things like that, but we are just, kind of like we’re doing with Chinn and those guys, just getting him as healthy as possible. He had a couple of injuries in college. We want to make sure he’s whole before we start the season. “

▪ The Panthers are one of a handful of teams across the league that have had consistently high participation numbers at OTAs this year, especially for the number of weeks the coaching staff has planned.

The team’s NFLPA representative, DJ Moore, who is in contact with Anderson on a daily basis, said that there was not much doubt among the team’s leaders about participating, although they did have multiple discussions about it.

“Because we are one of the youngest teams in the league,” Moore said of why it was important for them to be there. “When I was talking to some of the other leaders, like the oldest players on the team, it was like, since we we are so young, we might as well just go ahead and go in and get it down and get it done. Not be all separated throughout the country, we got people that are out, but they’re still in constant communication with us, so it’s all good.”

▪ When asked about the left tackle position, Rhule pointed to Cam Erving first, “I’m glad that he’s here right now because he’s getting a lot of work.” There is no certainty at the position, however. The coach also referenced Dennis Daley, who can also play guard, Scott and Little, who has been at left tackle in both OTAs open to the media. Answers will have to wait until further down the road.

▪ The Panthers released quarterback/tight end Tommy Stevens Tuesday night and signed former Ohio State wide receiver C.J. Saunders, who went undrafted in 2020, and worked with the returners during Wednesday’s practice. There was interest with having Stevens in a role similar to what Taysom Hill does for the New Orleans Saints. Rhule did not rule out the prospect of bringing him back in the future.

“CJ (was) obviously a good player at Ohio State, a punt returner. I think right now where we are, we just need a couple more receivers in camp,” Rhule said. This is the time where we’re going to see as many people as possible. Some guys have come in and done a really good job and maybe aren’t here, but maybe they’ll back with us training camp.”