Panthers’ Matt Rhule prepares for first game as NFL head coach

Matt Rhule is set to take the sidelines for his first NFL game as a head coach on Sunday when his Carolina Panthers host the Raiders. He hopes his team is ready for the challenge.

“It’s one of those things where I think we just need to play,” he said on a conference call Wednesday. “We had a very physical, very competitive camp. … No matter what happens, good or bad, we know we’ll try to build off of it and continue to improve. … we need to see our strengths, our weaknesses and find our identity.”

Rhule has spent the vast majority of his coaching career in college. He did spend the 2012 season as the assistant offensive line coach with the Giants, but returned to the collegiate ranks to run the programs at Temple and Baylor.

Now he has been forced to prepare for his first season running an NFL franchise under the bizarre circumstances of 2020 that kept him from getting on the field with his players until training camp started last month.

Rhule, who was coached by Joe Paterno at Penn State, cited one of his mentor’s favorite axioms in saying he believes his team’s biggest improvement will come between games 1 and 2.

“Sometimes you just have to go see what you put on tape,” he said. “Someone may do something you weren’t quite sure they could do.”

Familiar face

Former Raider Tahir Whitehead is listed as the first-team middle linebacker on the Panthers’ first regular-season depth chart and is expected to start on Sunday.

Rhule said Whitehead is down about 15 pounds from his 2019 playing weight and has brought veteran leadership to a unit loaded with young, inexperienced talent.

“He’s moving great and he looks really good,” Rhule said. “He brings such a seriousness and a maturity to our defense. We’re going to play with a bunch of young guys, so having a guy like him out there really helps.”

Captains named

Derek Carr and Rodney Hudson were once again named offensive captains for 2020, the Raiders announced.

Two newcomers were named defensive captains, along with veteran safety Erik Harris after voting by the team.

Defensive tackle Maliek Collins and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, both in their first season with the team were bestowed with the honor by their new teammates.

“Means more than any stat game, any contract I’ll sign!” Harris wrote on Twitter. “To have your peers respect you means way more to me.”

Kyle Wilber will captain the special teams, earning the distinction after being released and brought back to the roster this week.

Injury report

Three projected starters were limited participants in practice on Wednesday, according to the first official injury report of the season.

Right tackle Trent Brown is dealing with a calf injury and Collins has a thigh issue. Damon Arnette was on the list with a thumb issue that was known and a groin injury that wasn’t.

Veteran linemen Hudson and Richie Incognito, along with tight end Jason Witten, all missed practice with no injury designation, probably signifying rest days.

Bryan Edwards (knee), Nelson Agholor (groin) and Nicholas Morrow (knee) all practiced in full.

Practice squad complete

The Raiders have filled their 16-player practice squad by adding tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith.

The undrafted lineman out of Pittsburgh has spent time with the Texans, Dolphins and most recently the 49ers, though he has yet to appear in a regular-season game.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.