Feb. 24, 2026, 5:35 p.m. ET

For the first time in over a month, Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales gave us something to chew on.

The duo took their podiums from the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday afternoon—and spoke on a range of topics including free agency, the draft and the outlook of their current roster. Heck, one of them even dropped a bombshell bit of news about the upcoming campaign.

But which pieces of information were the most interesting?

Here are our biggest takeaways from this afternoon’s media availabilities . . .

Inside additions

One of Carolina’s major weaknesses over the past few seasons has been their play at inside linebacker. Morgan, a former linebacker himself, told reporters that he’ll be looking to bolster the position in the coming weeks.

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“In terms of free agency and the draft, I think that’s a position that we’ll try to attack,” Morgan stated. “We’re looking for guys that are leaders, that are playmakers and that are culture fits for us. So we’re excited about attacking that and putting the work in.”

Starter Christian Rozeboom, who led the team with 122 tackles in 2025, is set to become a free agent. Trevin Wallace, a third-round pick from 2024, has had his first two pro campaigns shortened by season-ending shoulder injuries.

Effects of Ickey’s injury

Morgan provided an encouraging update on starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who ruptured his patellar tendon in the Panthers’ wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

“The surgery went really well,” he said. “Ickey’s doing really good. He’s recovering, feeling good. I just talked to him the other day. So he’s in good spirits. Unfortunate what happened. Obviously, timeline-wise, I don’t really have a timeline. We’ll see how it progresses, how it goes. But so far, it’s looking good.”

And regardless of a timeline, Morgan affirmed that the team was always planning on bulking up their offensive trench.

“In terms of it impacting the draft and free agency, offensive line is a position we’re always gonna be looking at,” he added. “Always trying to upgrade and have as much depth as possible there. So we’re just gonna attack that like we usually do.”

(Backup) QB competiton

The Panthers are hoping to add some competition behind starting quarterback Bryce Young, which could cloud Andy Dalton’s future in Carolina.

“Andy knows he’s gonna have to compete,” Morgan stated. “We are gonna try to bring somebody in here. I don’t know who that is—whether through free agency or through the draft or, again, both. You never know. I’m in constant communication with Andy. We’ve talked multiple times. He’s aware of the plan.”

Dalton, 37, is on the final year of his contract in 2026.

New offensive play-caller

Despite indicating otherwise in January, Canales has decided to relinquish offensive play-calling duties moving forward. That role will now belong to soon-to-be third-year offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.

Canales discussed his huge decision.

“When I look at this, this allows me to be in a better position to affect our team,” Canales said. “And this also allows Brad to affect the offense in a positive way.

“He’s my primary architect for what we do offensively—with the run game, the pass game and the connection of it. And I saw this as an opportunity to streamline the work that goes in during the week, and then to have that come alive on game day for the play-caller who has a vision for what we’re doing.”

Idzik’s only play-calling experience for the Panthers has come during preseason play.

New offensive mind

Canales spoke on the addition of new associate head coach and offensive specialist Darrell Bevell. He explained what Bevell can bring to the unit.

“We’re looking at all the things Darrell brought from Miami, and just putting it all on the table,” Canales said of the addition. “We know we have our core. That will stay the same. But what are some of the things operationally, what are some of the wrinkles from a schematic standpoint that we might be able to add to bring value to what we’re doing?”

He also made note of how Bevell’s most recent experience as the Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator can factor in.

“And certainly, looking at an offense that I’ve really respected over the years,” he added of the Dolphins. “And a coaching family with Mike McDaniel, Kyle Shanahan and the like that I really respect—and to see, like, how do they get to such good football? Explosive plays, all of those things. We wanna make sure that we’re continuing to bring things to our offense.”

Bevell has 25 years of NFL coaching experience, with 15 of those coming as an offensive coordinator.

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