The Panthers recently offered left guard Greg Van Roten a three-year deal, according to a report by Joe Person at the Athletic.
Van Roten was a backup for most of his career until 2018, when he began starting regularly for Carolina. He played all 16 games that year, followed by 11 starts in 2019 until he suffered a toe injury Week 12, ending his season.
It’s somewhat surprising to hear that the Panthers offered him a three-year deal. While he’s developed into a quality run blocker, Van Roten’s pass protection is a liability and he just turned 30 years old a few weeks ago. Perhaps the front office is feeling needy at the position since they traded right guard Trai Turner to the Chargers in exchange for left tackle Russell Okung.
Van Roten has more than one suitor, though. According to Matt Parrino, the Bills are also interested.
If Van Roten leaves, we’ll officially have no idea who will be starting at either guard spot in 2020.
It’s possible the Panthers will slide last year’s offensive line draft picks (Greg Little and Dennis Daley) inside permanently to try to fill those two holes, but Little is a true left tackle and both have limited experience.
With Joe Thuney, Brandon Scherff and Graham Glasgow all locked up, it would be a good idea for Carolina to pick a guard in this year’s draft to add more depth. In any case, there’s a strong chance the interior of the offensive line is going to be a problem this year.
