Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich may be considered a tight end whisperer by some. And after Wednesday’s opening outing of training camp, he provided quite a buzz about what he’s trying to do at the position this season.
When speaking on how Hayden Hurst and the rest of the team’s tight end group is coming along, Reich threw out some pretty hefty hints of what he’s expecting.
“Yeah, Hayden looked good,” he said. “He was limited, right? Much of the offseason. And he’s got a lot of energy, juice, passion. You feel it out there. He’s a versatile player. We really see Hayden as a guy who can do it all at that position.”
Hurst signed a three-year, $21.7 million deal in the spring. Despite having signed that pact while recovering from offseason groin surgery, the sixth-year pass catcher (and pass protector and run blocker) will be relied upon to reinvigorate the tight end spot for Carolina.
Over the last three seasons, Panthers tight ends have combined for all of 1,173 receiving yards and six touchdowns. So Reich, who is no stranger to utilizing that position through the air, is ready to get his guys going.
“That whole room, though, we’re excited about,” he added. “They all have a role. We like that. They each have certain strengths that we can emphasize and continue to talk to that room about we have big plans for them. But we gotta roll it out day by day.”
