Dave Canales on Terrace Marshall Jr: 'He's been reliable'

Dave Canales enters his first season as an NFL head coach this year, taking the reins of a Carolina Panthers team that hasn’t had a winning record since 2017. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator will look to shift the culture in Charlotte and turn things around for the Panthers.

Canales getting his offensive success at previous stops like Tampa Bay and Seattle to translate for the Panthers’ offense could take Carolina a long way this season. Which will also come with the task of him getting more out of the team’s personnel than ever before in certain areas.

During OTAs, Canales was asked about wide receiver Terrace Marshall. Many Panthers fans would like to see more from him as he enters his fourth season with the organization.

“He’s been reliable,” Canales said. “He’s doing what we’re asking him to do, he’s running the right routes, you can see that this is a big man with speed in there and I think that the more comfortable he’s getting with our system, with our concepts, the faster he looks. And so I’m really curious to see where he takes that this year.”

Carolina drafted Marshall with the No. 59 overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of LSU. Who caught 23 touchdown passes in his final two seasons with the Tigers as a part of one of the most high-powered offenses in College Football history that helped LSU take home the 2019 CFP National Championship.

Unfortunately, Marshall has not been able to translate that production to his career in the pros. Catching just one touchdown in his three seasons with the Panthers and failing to reach the 30-reception or 500-yard mark in any individual season. Which Canales is hoping to help change this upcoming season.

“I know that he’s had a couple of years here and really hasn’t produced to the potential of what people might think,” Canales said. “But hopefully we’ll create an environment where he’s able to get onto our offense and be able to show us something. Especially when we get into more competitive settings.”

New Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will represent the fourth OC of Marshall’s pro career, failing to see any continuity from an offensive scheme standpoint in consecutive seasons in the NFL. But hopefully, Carolina’s latest and greatest offense can bring the best out of Marshall after doing so for several wide receivers in years past with Canales.