Canales' Analysis: Considering Another Veteran QB, Legette on Special Teams + More

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales met with the media following Saturday's rookie minicamp practice.

Xavier Legette working as a gunner on special teams

“Special teams is a premium for us. This is something that on gameday we don’t get a lot of players, you know? It’s something our players have to get used to as they come into the NFL. We have these many helmets today, so if something happens they all need to be ready to contribute. That’s how we were able to build great teams in Seattle. Doug Baldwin as a starter early on, he was playing on teams, on cover units. So just making sure Xavier has that starting point and he’s such a natural athlete. Watching him take those first couple of steps it was really cool.”

Having Dom Capers and Jim Caldwell on staff

“I’ve got a wealth of knowledge just right here in the building. It’s probably a once a week thing where they’ll pull me aside and say, ‘Hey, when you’re approaching this, you might want to think about…,’ And they always start off with ‘this is just a suggestion,’ but like I don’t take those things lightly. I take it to heart and I evaluate. Sometimes it fits into what we’re doing or at a minimum, it’s always just such a great opportunity for me to learn my first time around what works best for our staff, what works best for our players. I love just stealing those moments.”

How TE Ja’Tavion Sanders will be used

“We’re going to ask him to play the F and the Y in different situations. Known pass, he’s the Y. When you get into 12 personnel, he’s a guy you can move around a little bit more, maybe play him in the slot a little bit. But right now, it’s just about the basics. It’s about teaching him the steps of the run game, teaching him the formations, and he’s got a long way to go in terms of just picking up the fundamentals. I think his role will grow over time, but we need to make sure we incrementally build that for him.”

If adding another veteran QB is still being considered

“I’m looking for value for the quarterback room. What do they bring for that room, for Bryce in particular? The good part about Jack (Plummer), I saw some accuracy, his ability to get up at the line, spit the plays out and all that so I’m excited about having him just being able to operate that way. But I would certainly feel like we would still have our ears to the ground and see if there’s anybody that might be interested in coming and being a part of what we’re doing.”

READ MORE ABOUT THE PANTHERS

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