CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Safety Kurt Coleman is taking on an added role this season with the Carolina Panthers - full-time mentor.
The NFC champion Panthers will be relying heavily on Coleman's NFL experience to help tutor an extremely young secondary following an offseason purge of veteran defensive backs.
The Panthers parted ways with Roman Harper and Charles Tillman this offseason and didn't retain Cortland Finnegan. Together, they had 33 years of NFL experience. Complicating matters, All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent, leaving Coleman and journeyman cornerback Robert McClain - a late-season pickup last season - as the only players in the Carolina secondary with any significant starting NFL experience.