{"id":118911,"date":"2025-06-10T14:44:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/118911\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T14:44:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T14:44:15","slug":"panthers-sending-strong-message-to-nfl-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/118911\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers Sending Strong Message to NFL in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panthers Sending Strong Message to NFL in 2025 <\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Carolina Panthers were written off early in 2024. Now, just months later, one NFL analyst believes they\u2019re quietly building a team no one wants to play.<\/p>\n

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In a league where narratives can shift overnight, Aaron Leming of Windy City Gridironlisted Carolina as one of the NFL\u2019s most improved teams heading into the 2025 season, joining a group of rebuilding squads that all lost 12 or more games last year. But Leming didn\u2019t include the Panthers out of sympathy. He pointed to concrete roster upgrades and a rejuvenated quarterback as reasons for real optimism in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey went from an easy win to a team nobody wanted to face down the stretch,\u201d Leming noted, referencing Carolina\u2019s improved play late last season.<\/p>\n

Indeed, after a disastrous 1-7 start in 2024, the Panthers finished the year by winning four of their final nine, including a dramatic overtime victory over Atlanta in Week 18. That turnaround was sparked by the resurgence of quarterback Bryce Young, who showed flashes of his Heisman-caliber talent after early-season struggles and a temporary benching.<\/p>\n

Under new head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan, the Panthers attacked the offseason with urgency. They added high-upside youth through the draft, highlighted by No. 8 overall pick Tetairoa McMillan, an explosive wide receiver with WR1 potential, and edge rushers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen.<\/p>\n

\"Carolina<\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales with Ian Thomas (80) in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium.\u00a9 Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The front office also turned to free agency to reinforce the defense, signing disruptive linemen Patrick Jones II, Tershawn Wharton, and Bobby Brown III. On the back end, safety Tre\u2019Von Moehrig and rookie Lathan Ransom will help anchor what was a porous secondary.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Jones, Wharton, and Brown additions will complement the high-round selections of Scourton and Umanmielen,\u201d Leming explained. \u201cAdd in Moehrig and Ransom\u2026 that should be enough to help get the Panthers\u2019 defense closer to league average.\u201d<\/p>\n

That might not sound glamorous, but for a team that ranked bottom-five in nearly every defensive metric last year, average could be transformational.<\/p>\n

On the offensive side, retaining Adam Thielen\u2019s veteran presence and drafting McMillan give Young a stronger supporting cast. With running backs Chuba Hubbard and new addition Rico Dowdle forming a thunder-and-lightning backfield, Carolina may finally be able to control the tempo.<\/p>\n

Health will be crucial. The offensive line\u2019s ability to keep Young upright is perhaps the biggest variable standing between another lost season and a potential playoff push.<\/p>\n

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Leming put it plainly:<\/p>\n

\u201cAssuming the Panthers\u2019 offensive line can stay healthy, the offense has a quality ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still early. The Panthers are months away from taking a snap that counts. But with roster upgrades on both sides of the ball, a quarterback with something to prove, and a coach known for QB development, Carolina may not just be improved, they may be dangerous.<\/p>\n

Panthers fans, it\u2019s time to watch closely. The rebuild may finally be taking root.<\/p>\n

Related: Former Panthers Franchise Player Sparks Buzz with Bold Business Move<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Panthers Join Savannah Bananas for Historic Weekend in Charlotte<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Panthers Sending Strong Message to NFL in 2025 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Carolina Panthers were written…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4128,223,19259,1476,260,1751,3839,3838,7,2220,6,748,749,7152,14639,1453,1470],"class_list":{"0":"post-118911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-adam-thielen","9":"tag-atlanta","10":"tag-bobby-brown-iii","11":"tag-bryce-young","12":"tag-carolina-panthers","13":"tag-chuba-hubbard","14":"tag-dan-morgan","15":"tag-dave-canales","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-lathan-ransom","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-nic-scourton","20":"tag-princely-umanmielen","21":"tag-rico-dowdle","22":"tag-tershawn-wharton","23":"tag-tetairoa-mcmillan","24":"tag-the-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114659607406270270","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}