When he was with the Chiefs, he lived that process in real time, when the acquisition of quarterback Patrick Mahomes (and subsequent record-breaking extension for him) kept them atop the league. When a team goes to five Super Bowls in six years, and wins three of them, it’s fair to say he’s seen what “sustain” looks like.
And for the Panthers to get there, he knows what comes in the next month will be just as important, because they won’t always be in the position to spend the way they have lately, or want to.
“Contending to sustaining probably means dipping your toe less in free agency,” he said. “And it’s more about retaining your own players who you’ve drafted, and relying on the draft to bring in your talented players.
“It’s a hard stage to get to, and not many teams do, and I hope we get there.”
Some of that work was done for them, as Tilis and general manager Dan Morgan extended former first-round picks Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn, giving the team a base of talent on defense that makes signing players such as Tre’von Moehrig, Phillips, and Lloyd more impactful.
They’ve also balanced that by creating the conditions for flexibility. Of the nine outside free agents they’ve retained, along with 14 of their own free agents, only Phillips, Lloyd, and veteran punter Sam Martin signed for more than one year. Of the 74 on the roster at the moment, only 29 of them are under contract beyond 2026.
“It’s really hard to sustain anything when you’re signing a bunch of one-year deals,” he said. “You really want long-term deals to sustain, and you also need to be able to continue to draft well.
“It really comes down to drafting well and having a really good process, and if we have that, then yeah, I think we can get pretty close to that sustaining level.”