National Football League

Report: Oher set to be the man at left tackle for Panthers

Published May. 7, 2015 12:04 p.m. ET

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The chase may be on to land former LSU Tiger La'el Collins, but apparently the Carolina Panthers are focused on getting Michael Oher prepared to start at left tackle in 2015.

According to David Newton of ESPN, Ron Rivera believes that Oher is going to be "very key" when it comes to the future of the offensive line. It's not just Rivera who believes this, obviously, as general manager Dave Gettleman apparently has high expectations as well.

“He’s very key,’’ Rivera told ESPN. “We didn’t bring him in -- and [general manager] Dave [Gettleman] wanted to make sure he signed a two-year deal -- just to have him here and let him go."

As pointed out by Newton, the Panthers signed Oher to a two-year, $7 million deal with a $2.5 million signing bonus, showing that the team has faith in him to play a role in this offense.

Carolina is still likely to make a push for Collins, but the focus is on building a strong offensive line to protect Cam Newton, a line which will definitely include Oher.

(h/t ESPN)

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