NFC Notes: Bucky Irving, Michael Penix Jr., Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Buccaneers fourth-round RB Bucky Irving joins a room where RB Rachaad White came on strong to end the 2023 season. Tampa Bay RB coach Skip Peete is willing to give the ball to anyone who can contribute, regardless of their background in the league.

“The more you have success, the more I’ll leave you in there,” Peete said, via Adam Slivon of Pewter Report. “Doesn’t matter whether you’re a five-year guy, rookie, or second-year guy, the best guy to help us win to do the best job is going to play. I think Bucky was drafted to come in here and help this football team so I mean he’s going to have an opportunity to showcase what he can do. I think it’s going to create a lot of competition in the room, which is a good thing for everybody.”

Falcons

• Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that word began to circulate in league circles the Saturday before the draft that the Falcons “loved” QB Michael Penix Jr and had him rated as their No. 2 overall quarterback.
• According to Fowler, Falcons owner Arthur Blank fully endorsed the approach to add “long-term stability” at the quarterback position, despite recently signing Kirk Cousins.
• Fowler mentions the coaching calendar likely played a role in terms of the decision to sign Cousins while they were still scouting quarterbacks. As the coaching staff was acclimated and fully involved in the scouting process, they began to zero in on Penix four to six weeks out.
• Cousins is “pretty much full go” and is expected to fully participate in offseason workouts, per HC Raheem Morris. (Josh Kendall)
• Per Adam Schefter, the Falcons also put in a waiver claim on QB Nathan Rourke, who wound up going to the Giants instead.

Panthers

Panthers C Austin Corbett said he realized he was converting to the center position after the team signed guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis on the open market. 

“You know, just scrolling in my phone, and here comes free agency, and I said, oh, there’s a guard,” Corbett said, via the team’s site. “And I figured, OK, and then it’s like oh, we got another one. There you go. Well, I guess it leaves me on the inside. I just talk too much anyway. So it was inevitable. I was going to end up in there at some point in my career.”

Panthers QB Bryce Young said Corbett stayed engaged with the team despite missing time with a knee injury. 

“He obviously wasn’t healthy for a lot of the year, but he was so engaged and so into it,” Young said. “If you weren’t here and didn’t know everything that had happened, you’d never know that he wasn’t playing. He was taking some of the most thorough notes I’ve ever seen. In every single protection meeting we had, he was talking the most, even the times when he wasn’t even in the game. So he’s someone that I’ve asked a ton of questions to, we’ve had a bunch of conversations even last year with no plans of this happening. But that’s just kind of the type of guy he is, so I’m super-excited for the opportunity and to continue to grow that relationship.”

• According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Panthers have parted ways with pro director Rob Hanrahan and assistant pro director Tyler Ramsey.