Minter's Retirement Will Hit Panthers Hard

Sitting with the 25th overall pick in last April's draft, there was widespread belief the Panthers were crossing their fingers Florida FS Reggie Nelson would somehow fall into their laps. Even Miami's Brandon Meriweather would be a strong fall-back option with the front office knowing veteran Mike Minter was on his last legs.

Nelson went No. 21 to Jacksonville and New England scooped up Meriweather with the pick directly in front of Carolina. The Panthers wound up not selecting a safety with any of their first seven picks -- waiting until the seventh round to pick up Baylor DB C.J. Wilson with the 226th overall selection.

Wilson got some reps with the first team last week, and is suddenly in the mix for significant playing time after Minter reportedly decided to retire due to his chronic knee pain. Clearly, the Panthers are in a very precarious situation with their last line of defense. They picked up SS Chris Harris from Chicago last week, but free safety is a major concern.

Nate Salley, a fourth-round pick who was originally cut in training camp last year, is the leading candidate to replace Minter. He also missed practice time last week, and the only other real candidate on the roster is Deke Cooper, a journeyman safety in his second stint with the Panthers.

So now Carolina is left with a strong safety getting a crash course in the defense and a gigantic question mark at free safety. The Panthers better hope they get one heck of a season out of DE Julius Peppers making sure quarterbacks don't have time to attack the secondary deep.