Why the Carolina Panthers decided to move on from former second round pick Greg Little
Greg Little’s time with the Carolina Panthers is over.
As part of a series of moves to get the Panthers’ roster down to the required 85 players by Tuesday afternoon, the team traded the former 2019 second-round pick and left tackle to the Miami Dolphins.
The Panthers will receive a 2022 seventh round pick from the Dolphins in exchange.
“A couple of teams had been inquiring about him,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Tuesday. “Greg played a good game the other night.
“So I think they looked at that tape and there was some need on their end, and we thought it was the best thing for both sides.”
The Panthers traded up 10 picks to draft Little, 23, at 37th overall in hopes of making him the team’s left tackle of the future. The team gave up a third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks to make the pick. Little, however, never reached the level that the team hoped.
He dealt with a variety of injuries during his first two seasons with the Panthers. His lack of versatility was also an issue for the new coaching staff and front office that took over since he was drafted. All of the Panthers’ backup offensive linemen can play more than one role, while Little was primarily a left tackle.
“I have nothing but good things to say about Greg,” Rhule said. “I had a chance to visit with him when the decision was made. He might be one of those guys who just needs a change of scenery.”
Little, a former Ole Miss lineman, played in 14 games and started in six during his two years with the Panthers.
When pressed further, Rhule said it just “never really quite worked out.”
“I’m one of those guys that always believes that guys are going to continue to improve and get better,” Rhule said, “and I think he was doing that, he was working. Just figured like this was the best move for us to go ahead and let him go somewhere else, a place that needed him, and recoup a pick.”
General manager Scott Fitterer was not made available for comment Tuesday. He’s expected to be available Wednesday or Thursday.
Miami has two seventh-round picks — from New England and Tennessee — in the 2022 NFL draft. The Panthers will get the higher pick based on whichever team finishes worst this season.
The Panthers will likely have to add another offensive lineman for depth. Rhule said if the season were to start today, Cameron Erving would start at left tackle, and right tackle Taylor Moton would be second string left tackle. In the case that Moton played left tackle, offensive tackle Trent Scott would play right tackle with rookie Brady Christensen backing him up.
“We’re a work in progress,” Rhule said of the offensive line. “We’re like I-85 on the way down (to Spartanburg), we’re under construction. We’ve got some work to do.”
Pride to IR
Second-year cornerback Troy Pride Jr. has been placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL suffered in Sunday’s preseason game vs. the Indianapolis Colts; the injury will require surgery.
“He’ll come back from this injury and he’ll be fast again next year, and he’ll continue to grow as a player,” Rhule said.
The 2020 fourth-round pick was struggling in this year’s training camp and was lower on the depth chart due to recent additions at the cornerback position.
Rhule said he didn’t anticipate the Panthers going out to find another cornerback. It remains one of their deepest positions.
In addition to Little and Pride move, the Panthers released fullback Rod Smith, waived/injured center Mike Panasiuk, waived/injured linebacker Nate Hall and waived/injured OL Matt Kaskey to get the roster down to 84.
Injury notes
▪ Wide receiver Keith Kirkwood was limited at practice Tuesday, a good sign for the receiver who is making his way out of the concussion protocol following a big hit to the neck at practice a couple of weeks ago. Offensive lineman Dennis Daley returned to practice after missing time for personal reasons, and defensive back Myles Hartsfield and linebackers Clay Johnston and Julian Stanford were back at practice after not traveling with the team to Indianapolis due to injuries.
▪ Running backs Reggie Bonnafon and Rodney Smith did not participate in the team’s walk-through due to injuries. Neither participated in the first preseason game.
Upcoming schedule
The Panthers will host the Baltimore Ravens for two joint practices beginning Wednesday. The teams will meet in a preseason game at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Why the Carolina Panthers decided to move on from former second round pick Greg Little."