Viewpoints from Charlotte on Ealy are not very flattering:
Return of iconic player, exit of stubborn one signal new motto for Panthers GM Dave Gettleman
Not long after Ealy’s virtuoso performance in Super Bowl 50, Panthers coach Ron Rivera revealed that Gettleman thought Ealy had a little bit of Josh Norman in him, which is to say – a stubborn streak.
It was not intended as a compliment.
And just as Norman was shown the door last spring with little in return (save for a third-round compensatory pick), the Panthers dealt Ealy to New England for a swap of picks that allowed Carolina to move up eight spots in next month’s draft.
At least Gettleman got something in exchange for Ealy, the second-round pick from Missouri in 2014. The Panthers would have had nothing to show for Ealy had they cut him in August, which was a real possibility given the addition of (Julius) Peppers and the re-signings of Charles Johnson, Wes Horton and Mario Addison.
At the end of the article the author portrays the draft pick of Ealy as a "miss":
Gross said Peppers will raise the play of those around him because of how he practices and plays. Peppers might have helped jump-start the stalled development of Ealy, whose flashes of stardom were sandwiched between long stretches of lackluster play.
But Ealy will always have Santa Clara.
Ealy did what no player has ever done in a Super Bowl, collecting three sacks and an interception in the same game. In threatening to ruin Peyton Manning’s swan song, Ealy made it seem like the light had come on for him.
And then it didn’t.
Ealy leaves with 14 sacks in three seasons, and probably will become Bill Belichick’s next reclamation project to flourish and win a Super Bowl ring.
But Gettleman’s miss on Ealy was overshadowed Friday by his get on Peppers, whose return to his home state for his final chapter is – as Gross said – a feel-good story on the heels of 6-10.
