CHARLOTTE — Coaches are notoriously singularly focused. Worrying about a game in Week 17 doesn't help in preparation for Week 1, for example. But Dave Canales had to admit even he gets a thrill when the schedule is released every May.

"When the schedule does come out, there is an excitement," Canales said Thursday while previewing the Panthers' 2025 schedule. "There is an anticipation that makes it more real, and you start to kind of, you know, set your sights on how the season builds and all that. So I'll definitely admit that part of it. But it's my job to make every day important, and we'll certainly approach that early on."

While that approach will take it day by day, focusing on OTAs, then training camp, preseason, and so on, the coach did take a few minutes this week to look through the schedule, offer commentary on what stood out to him, and share updates on player availability relative to the schedule.

Here are the four takeaways.

Bye and non-division games stood out first

Several players have joked for the past few weeks the game they would identify first is the Green Bay matchup. A game there in September is vastly different than in December. The Panthers got a bit of luck there with an early November date. So the next thing Canales' eye went to was the bye week.

The Panthers are tied for the latest bye week this year, not getting a game off until Week 14. It's one of the few weeks that determines the rest of the schedule, starting in the offseason.

"I want to know when the bye week is so we can kind of plan out and just kind of think about when it hits," Canales explained.

While the late bye would give most pause, Canales is choosing to see the positive side of where it falls.

"This year and this season, coming with, having the bye week and then four games left, I think is a really cool opportunity for us to kind of see where we're at, regroup and finish," he said. "I love that the buy comes, and then you got those four games to finish, you know, we always talk about that with our mentality."

The other thing that jumped out to Canales was how divisional—and therefore non-divisional—games aligned on the schedule. The Panthers first NFC South opponent is the Falcons in the home opener Week 3. The next time they face a divisional opponent is in Week 10, leaving six straight non-divisional opponents. Four of those six are also AFC teams.

"Right in the middle, there we have about a stretch of six non-division games in a row, and that just allows us to kind of see some different teams, work on our craft, you know, see different play styles defensively and offensively, that'll all be good learning lessons as we go," said Canales.

September spent on the road

Three of the Panthers' first four games are on the road. They'll travel to Jacksonville and Arizona in Week 1 and 2, respectively, then New England in Week 4. For Canales, that means three opportunities to connect during the time of the season when teams are working hard to establish chemistry.

"I just always look at road games as an opportunity for us to grow," Canales shared.

"I think the thing people miss that happens when you travel is you become closer as a team…. I've always seen those opportunities as a chance for us to bond and kind of grow closer.

"The fact that it happens early in the season is a good thing as we figure out who we are; we're going to have the core of what we're doing from an X's and O's standpoint, but we're going to see our team emerge and to go and play in somebody else's stadium, we talked to the guys like, 'Hey, we're all we got, we're all we need. This is our group right here, and you got to stay together.' The energy has to come from our bench for the guys playing and, and to support each other that way.

"The flip side of it is you got a lot of road games early on, that means that we're going to have more home games as the season goes on, and that's where we can bring our show home and really show who we are to our fan base and get them excited about what we're doing."

Four of the last eight games will be at home.

Brown's return

Defensive lineman Derrick Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the 2024 slate. He's spent the past eight months working to repair the meniscus tear, hitting rehab as soon as doctors would allow, and taking the field with his teammates during voluntary offseason workouts this spring.

"I'm feeling good, man, feeling great, and excited to be back with the team and be back with the guys and moving around a little more," Brown told reporters back in April. "Really, rehab kicked off.... I was doing rehab two days after I had surgery, so it's been a long journey, but one that I won't let define me and, you know, just being able to get back on my feet probably the last two months of really building up strength to be able to attack the fieldwork."

Now that the schedule has arrived and the upcoming season feels more imminent, the Panthers are assessing Brown closely.

"Derrick, we're just kind of week to week, you know, just seeing where he's at with his confidence level, conditioning level and all that," Canales said. "And so we'll kind of just play that by ear."

More joint practices a possibility

News was shared back in March that the Panthers would be holding a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns this coming training camp. That practice will occur in Charlotte before the first preseason game.

The Panthers' other two preseason games are in Houston (preseason Week 2) and back home against the Pittsburgh Steelers (preseason Week 3). And the chances of even more joint practices remain, Canales revealed Thursday.

"We're reaching out to Houston and Pittsburgh as well to see what the level of interest for those guys are. Think about having a joint practice with Houston in that heat and getting the acclamation—it'll be hot here (in Charlotte), but I know I was in Tampa for a year; I've heard Houston is very similar, so, just being able to get some acclimation, again just another great way to just challenge the guys to maintain focus in a different type of environment.

"So, we're open to those things with the Texans and the Steelers."

In the meantime, the Panthers will continue to prepare for their joint practice with the Browns. Canales said he and Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski have already been sharing ideas.

"Kevin Stefanski and I have worked back and forth, kind of sending each other practice plans to make sure that it's an appropriate practice for where we're at in training camp in terms of what we can manage and the load that we can handle."