Maybe the Panthers should try Diontae Johnson at quarterback.
It certainly couldn’t get worse.
Carolina’s star receiver vented after Sunday’s 40-7 loss to the Commanders that he can only do so much each week since he, well, only plays one position.
“Frustrated, but I can’t play every position on the field and make every play,” Johnson said Sunday, as captured by The Athletic. “Everybody got to do they job, when it comes down to it. But, yeah, it’s tough. I just tell myself to keep going regardless.”
The Panthers (1-6) are entering the “things are about to get really bad, eh?” stage of their terrible season and Johnson’s comments indicate the team may already be there.
Carolina has lost four straight and is allowing a league-worst 34.7 points per game while scoring the fifth-fewest points per game with 15.7.
The team received a one-game spark by benching former No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young for Andy Dalton — leading to a 36-22 Week 3 win over the Raiders — but the offense has been rudderless since.
Johnson joined the team this offseason after being traded by the Steelers and he’s seeing first-hand the difference between playing for a winning franchise and one of the NFL’s worst.
While he leads the team in receiving yards, Johnson has four games now with no more than 23 receiving yards after his one-catch, 17-yard performance against the Commanders.
Johnson and Dalton also were not on the same page on an interception.
Some have speculated whether the Panthers could trade Johnson to gain trade assets to help their rebuild, but head coach Dave Canales previously said he does not see that happening.
Things could change, obviously, if Johnson continues to voice his displeasure. Even the Steelers were willing to move on from Johnson despite his talent.
Canales said he’s noticed frustration among the players entering a Week 8 road game against the Broncos and their top defense, in which the Panthers are heavy underdogs again.
“Absolutely. These guys are very disappointed with our performance thus far,” Canales said Monday. “They are playing hard and giving great effort, that’s a great starting point. But we have to play good football and that’s the goal. That’s the closest goal that we have to is to get to good fundamental ball that we can be proud of. We’re not there and we got to continue to push into that, press into that and everybody needs to take responsibility and they are responding the right way in terms of how it feels.”
