CHARLOTTE — For an hour or so on Sunday, Panthers rookie tight end Mitchell Evans was very nearly Panthers rookie offensive tackle Mitchell Evans.

And even though they were able to get by with their five available and healthy linemen through the rest of the game, there was a moment in the third quarter when tight ends coach Pat McPherson offered Evans a career change.

They avoided that possibility Sunday, but it was close enough to give Evans flashbacks to the time when he was last an offensive lineman, which went even more poorly than Sunday did for his team.

"I was a guard in seventh grade, actually a backup guard, I didn't play," Evans said with a wince on Wednesday. "I was about to quit football actually."

Considering he went on to a fine career at Notre Dame and was drafted in t

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