Panthers vs. Falcons inactives: $54 million in offseason contracts on the offensive line are inactive

The inactives are out, and yes, we still have serious questions about what the team is doing with Deadrin Senat. That has been covered ad nauseam, as Senat appears to be benched in favor of a good player who is not under contract next season, despite flashing in his rookie year.

The bigger news for todays Falcons Panthers game is all the big deals the Falcons dished out to offensive linemen will not play. James Carpenter was ruled out with a concussion, but he has been a disaster at guard. Ty Sambrailo is out with an injury, which is a little odd considering he is a backup who rarely plays. Neither player has done much, if anything, to earn playing time.

Sambrailo has shockingly been active every game despite impressive young lineman Matt Gono sitting right behind him on the depth chart. We will finally see some of Gono today, who is expected to rotate in at guard to keep Lindstrom fresh. If he looks as good as he did in preseason, we will have serious questions why Sambrailo was given the backup job. Some may think his contract is the only reason he was not inactive, at the expense of potentially better play and developing a young lineman.

The most surprising is Jamon Brown, a guard who did not appear to fit the team’s blocking scheme, did not have a lot of career success, but signed a deal averaging over $6 million per year. He has been a free agent bust, and the Falcons can finally afford to send him to the bench with Chris Lindstrom healthy.

WR Brandon Powell, S Sharrod Neasman, and DE John Cominsky round out Atlanta’s inactives.

For the Panthers, Greg Olsen and Greg Little were ruled out earlier this week, while rookie pass rusher Christan Miller is the only notable inactive. DT Woodrow Hamilton, OL Chris Reed, DT Stacey McGee, and CB Corn Elder round out the inactives.