Tight ends prepare for the unknown ahead of Week 1

CHARLOTTE — Ja’Tavion Sanders has developed a ritual of sorts in his short NFL career. Before the Panthers’ first preseason game against the Patriots, the rookie tight end took the field early, stopped at the 40-yard line and took a moment to realize what it meant to be there.

“I’m just going to hit 40 and praise God because without Him I wouldn’t be here like this and He gave me the ability to play the game that I love so much,” Sanders said.

He repeated the process in the next two preseason games. Always walking onto the field alone, always thinking, always the 40-yard line – a crucial part of the process whose reasoning even he doesn’t know – “I don’t know why I did it, it was just, I don’t know,” Sanders tried to explain. “I don’t know why I did it, but since I did it in the first game, I’ve been doing it for the rest of the first preseason game, so I’m going to make it a pregame ritual.”

He’ll do the same this weekend in New Orleans when the Panthers open their 2024 regular season against the division rival Saints. In most situations, a rookie tight end, while wanting to keep his routine, wouldn’t look forward to a season opener with as much anticipation as Sanders. And to be honest, he’s actively working to suppress his nerves.

“I wouldn’t say we’re under any pressure,” he promised. “At the end of the day, we’re just going out there and playing football, something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. I’m definitely excited.”

While he may not feel any pressure, the former Texas pass catcher will undoubtedly draw more attention as he may receive the majority of the snaps and targets from the tight ends.

The status of Tommy Tremble (hamstring) and Ian Thomas (calf) remains uncertain as of Monday afternoon. Tremble told reporters last week he expected to play, but although he was present at practice wearing a helmet, he was unable to actually participate during that time. Thomas has not practiced in weeks.

“We’re still working on keeping a close eye on them. How much time can we expect from them,” Canales said of the veteran duo’s current workload. “We try to stay away from schedules and all that stuff throughout the week. But this is definitely something we’ve been working on for a couple of weeks now, you know, so I’m really counting on those guys.”

Even when they are not on the field, their impact is visible, Sanders said.

“Even though the guys were hurt, they were big brothers to me, coaches and I don’t think I would be in this position if those guys hadn’t helped me so much,” Sanders said. “So I’m definitely thankful for the guys I have in my room.”