The aforementioned illness hampered Metchie’s impact early in his career, sidelining him for his entire rookie season and bleeding into the next. Coaches don’t have the luxury of affording an adjusted timeline, though. Idzik is adamant, though, that in this situation they wouldn’t even need to.

“Unfortunately, we don’t really get to do that, so we just have to evaluate in a vacuum. I love the guy. I told him the first day he got here, like, I’ve loved you since you came out,” shared the coach.

“I think I was a receivers coach in Tampa when he was coming out, and he was a bulldog in the slot, did a lot and he showed that feel for a player that — everybody needs a couple of those guys out there as skill guys that can find the soft spots in the zone, set up routes and understanding how everything’s pieced together.

“But when it comes down to it, for the room as a whole, we evaluate Y’all in a vacuum and who’s going to be the best for the Panthers and building that whole room out for Bryce and the offense.”