Dan Morgan Gives Interesting Answer to Question About 2024 Expectations

Are the Panthers further away than we thought?

Following a 2-15 season, the Carolina Panthers have a long ways to go before being considered a true player in the NFC South.

General manager Dan Morgan took several steps this offseason to improve the top end of the roster by trading for wide receiver Diontae Johnson, signing guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, drafting receiver Xavier Legette and running back Jonathon Brooks, among many other moves.

But in order to be more than just competitive, you have to have depth. And right now, Carolina is searching for that on both sides of the ball. This is what makes setting a certain goal such as the playoffs difficult and Morgan isn't in the business of doing that.

“I’m not going to put any expectations on anything right now," Morgan told reporters on Tuesday when asked if this is a playoff team. "What I do know is that there is a lot of work ahead of us. Not only from a personnel standpoint, but the players. The players know that they have to put the work in out there. We have a lot of new players that have to gel out there together and become a team. In terms of playoffs, we’ll reach that when we’re ready. I think right now we’re focused on today, tomorrow, and just trying to get better as a team and an organization.

“Like I said before we have a plan. We have a plan in place, and a process. We’re aligned in that plan and we’re going to stick to it. I feel like if we’re disciplined and we stick to our plan on building this thing then we will build a winner eventually. I think we’re pretty confident in that.”

Some may take this as Morgan openly admitting this team is not ready for the playoffs. I look at it a little differently. I believe he actually does like the group he has in place but understands that making the playoffs in 2024 is a bit of a lofty goal considering everything this team went through in the last twelve to eighteen months. The expectation should be that the Panthers are competitive on a weekly basis and find a way to win a few of those one-score games that they were continuously on the wrong side of in 2023. If they were to somehow sneak into a Wild Card spot, then they're playing with house money at that point.

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