Sports
| Cameron Erving brings versatility and experience to Panthers o-line |
| Has played every position during NFL career |
| Published Tuesday, March 30, 2021 10:09 pm |
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| PHOTO | KANSAS CITY CHIEFS |
| Cameron Erving, who earned a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, adds depth and experience as the Carolina Panthers remake their offensive line. |
Cameron Erving was looking for a fresh start.
The Carolina Panthers are looking for offensive linemen and leadership.
And here they are, joined through necessity and free agency.
Erving, who signed a two-year deal with Carolina last month, is with his fourth team in six seasons. He’s played all five positions, which could help him with the Panthers, who are remaking their unit after going 5-11 last year.
“Just the opportunity to play with some electric players, the coaching staff, the offensive scheme,” he said. “Just those types of things the coaches and myself talked about before. The opportunity to just be able to compete and play at any spot on the line is just awesome.”
Erving’s experience and flexibility are intriguing. Erving, 28, played left tackle last year in Dallas and earned a Super Bowl ring with Kansas City. He’s lined up at multiple positions, so there’s familiarity everywhere.
“I played left tackle last year and got really comfortable playing there, but I played all the spots on the line,” said Erving, who is 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds. “Being flexible is one of the reasons why I’ve been in the NFL.”
It’s also the reason why he’s still in the league. Early in his career, Erving sought the certainty of lining up at a single position but over time understands the value of playing multiple roles.
“I looked at it as a negative thing early in my career,” he said, “but as I as I got older, I realized that it’s a blessing to be able to see the game from all those different positions and be able to see things a person who plays only one position might not see. It slows the game down in that aspect for me, so it’s been a good thing and I’ve embraced it.”
Renovating the offensive line has been a priority for Carolina during the offseason, where only center Matt Paradis was the only 2020 starter under contract.
Putting the franchise tag on right tackle Taylor Moton and signing guard/center Pat Elflein and Erving gives them competitive depth to go with younger linemen like left tackle Trent Scott and right guard John Miller, who played well when pressed into service last season.
That veteran presence adds experience younger players can plug into.

“You see a lot of potential,” Erving said. “I look back at myself and my career early, and it was a lot of struggles because you didn’t necessarily have the right coach or the right person or the right scheme and sometimes it just happens that way.
There’s “a lot of that potential in that room, the right tackle position over there has been amazing the last year with Taylor,” he continued. “So just looking to get to work with some of those young guys …I was looking forward to be able to kind of help them through some of the things that I struggled with early in my career.”
Erving has something to prove after spending most of last season on injured reserve for a knee injury. A fresh start in Carolina has him looking forward.
“I’m going to play hard,” he said. “I’m always having my teammates back. We will have fun, and you know it’s going to be electric being able to get back in that stadium.”
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