On Friday, the Carolina Panthers released their final injury report ahead of this weekend’s season opener against the New Orleans Saints. And as expected, starting tight ends Tommy Tremble (hamstring/back) and Ian Thomas (calf) were ruled out after missing all practices this week.

As expected, their absences also opened up the opportunity for freshman Ja’Tavion Sanders to start at that position on Sunday. Head coach Dave Canales confirmed the nomination following this afternoon’s meeting.

Of course, that means the 21-year-old tight end will start his first-ever regular season game in the NFL. Sanders earned that honor through his eye-opening offseason.

“It’s exponential growth, every day,” Canales said of Sanders during training camp. “I’ve seen him really make great technical progress. And that’s what you see with young guys. You see great progress, and then you want to get them to the point where they’re consistent. And then we do our incremental growth — just like some of the veteran guys who have been around for a long time.”

“So JT is making the moves we’re looking for. He made a big play at Fan Fest to finish the game, to finish the practice game with a corner. Had some nice plays today, nice catches. He’s doing it. He’s making the most of his opportunity. That’s what got him in the first group to show the guys that he can be counted on, and he’s been really reliable in doing that.”

Carolina selected Sanders as a starter in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In his final two years at the University of Texas, he recorded 99 pass catches for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns and was twice selected to the All-Big 12 first team.

Sanders is currently backed up at the position by 32-year-old veteran Jordan Matthews, the only other healthy tight end on the active roster. The Panthers can also promote Feleipe Franks from the practice squad to add some depth.