25 Troy Pride CB

Pride finished with seven tackles (five solo) in Sunday's 46-23 loss to the Buccaneers.

Pride matched his career-best stop total in a game during which Carolina struggled to contain Tampa Bay's high-octane offense. The rookie now sports 36 tackles through his first 10 games, but he's defended just one pass thus far.

Pride will start at cornerback Sunday against the Saints following news that Rasul Douglas was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Myles Simmons of the Panthers' official site reports.

The rookie fourth-round pick will make his third start of the season, and he's been a consistent contributor all year. With Douglas out, Pride is expected to handle a full workload with little competition. He's had typical rookie growing pains in coverage this season, allowing a 132.2 passer rating and two touchdowns when targeted, but Sunday's matchup should be a bit easier because Michael Thomas (ankle/hamstring) and Emmanuel Sanders (COVID-19) are both inactive.

Pride will be replaced by Rasul Douglas in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay, Myles Simmons of the Panthers' official site reports.

Pride was thrust into the starting lineup in Week 1 and performed well with seven tackles (four solo) in the loss. The rookie played 92 percent of the team's defensive snaps last week, so it's a bit surprising that he was demoted from the starting lineup. Pride certainly will still have a role in the defense, however, don't expect his production to equal last week's.

Pride finished with seven tackles (four solo) in Sunday's 34-30 loss to the Raiders.

Pride started at cornerback due to teammate Eli Apple (ankle/foot) being sidelined, but the rookie quickly found himself in an even bigger role after Donte Jackson was forced to exit after 11 snaps due to an ankle injury of his own. Those absences enabled Pride to play 92 percent of Carolina's defensive snaps in his debut, and although he placed third on the team in tackles, that production was a byproduct of him struggling in coverage at times. The sledding won't get any easier in Week 2 at the Buccaneers, but Pride should at least be encouraged by the playing time likely available to him to improve.

The Panthers selected Pride in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 113th overall.

The Panthers continue to rebuild the defense under new head coach Matt Rhule. Pride put together a blazing 4.40 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine to go along with a number of other positive athletic intangibles. It's a bit surprising to see the Notre Dame product slip as far as he did in the draft, but a lack of true consistency likely aided in his Day 3 selection. He'll likely compete for a starting spot opposite Donte Jackson.