Training camp has a way of turning plans into problems, and the Panthers are feeling that now. With preseason games in full swing and roster competition driving every rep, Ja'Tavion Sanders has gone from breakout candidate to a player fighting to keep pace on a tight end depth chart that suddenly looks much more crowded.
Darren Waller has joined the Panthers and moved ahead of Sanders in the pecking order. That alone says plenty about how quickly the conversation has shifted. In camp, standing still is usually the same as falling behind, and Sanders now finds himself in a tougher spot than he did when the summer began.
A crowded room changes the picture
The Panthers have leaned into a next-man-up culture while dealing with injuries, and that matters because it makes roster competition more than just a training-camp storyline. It becomes part of how the team survives. In that kind of environment, every position is a live battle, and tight end is no exception.
Sanders is now listed behind Waller, Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans in the tight end pecking order. For a player who was once viewed as a breakout candidate, that is a meaningful slide. It does not close the door on his future, but it does make the path to playing time much less straightforward.
The bigger lesson is that Carolina’s camp is not about labels from last season. It is about who can hold up now, in 2026, while the Panthers defend their NFC South title and sort through the depth chart on the fly. Trevin Wallace’s third-round selection in 2024 is part of the broader reminder that this roster is still being shaped by timing, development and competition.
That is what makes Sanders’ situation worth watching. He is not the only player under pressure, but he is one of the clearest examples of how quickly a depth chart can shift when a veteran like Waller enters the mix. For the Panthers, that is a sign of depth. For Sanders, it is a warning that camp has become a test of patience as much as talent.
