CHARLOTTE — When Panthers head coach Dave Canales was talking about extending a competitive period of practice this week, he mentioned seeing some of the most competitive guys on the roster and taking his cue.

"It just felt like football," Canales began. "And I was like, there's no way I'm not going to be able to look at Mike Jack, and Jaycee and Derrick. I'm not going to be able to look them in the face if I call this move-the-ball scrimmage period right now. They want to play football."

Two of those names are natural, since Jaycee Horn and Derrick Brown were top-10 picks here, who have since been rewarded with massive contract extensions to make them foundational pieces of this program.

Including Mike Jackson in that was telling through, especially because he hasn't even reached his first anniversary as a Panther.

A year ago today, Mike Jackson was still a Seattle Seahawk, yet to realize he was about to pack his bags quickly for a trip to Charlotte.

Near the end of the preseason last year, the Panthers traded linebacker Michael Barrett to Seattle for the veteran corner for some short-term cover. But he's turned into much more than that. Instead of just filling in for projected starter Dane Jackson while he was injured, Jackson got in the lineup and never left, and has since become something of a fixture here himself, after signing a new contract this offseason.

"I feel like a lot has changed; It just showed me to just always believe in me," Jackson said when he thinks back over the last 365 days. "Like when I got traded here, I knew I was just coming in as a filler guy because the starter got hurt. But for my thing, it was like you handed me the playbook and said, 'Be ready with ones' like I'm starting.

"So my whole goal was to go start the whole year, and for now it's like, yeah, I got the contract, but to be honest, that really doesn't mean anything because it's all about what I did today."

Jackson can go into great detail about his own shortcomings in a particular practice, whether it was a pass interference penalty (he's handsy and physical in the same way Horn is) or allowing a completion.

And the 28-year-old has learned how to turn that not just into motivation, but into intention.

"So now it's kind of like all right, tomorrow no passes, maybe get a pick, and then no PI," he said with a laugh. "It's just keep grinding, don't worry about what happened yesterday, or next week.

"Just focus on getting better today and just have fun. Because I'm getting to the point of my career where a lot of guys I came into football with aren't playing no more. I'm closer to the end than the beginning."

Jackson's not thinking about retiring or anything; he wants another six or seven years.

"But I've been playing football since I was 7," he said. "So it's like I know I'm getting closer to the end, so just enjoying every moment."

Last year provided plenty of those, as Jackson established himself as a quality starter in the league.

He arrived here as the definition of a journeyman, the kind of player good enough to stay on rosters, but never someone a team invested in. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys in 2019 but was cut after his rookie training camp. The Lions signed him off their practice squad later that year, but he was traded to the Patriots the following summer, and he spent most of the year on their practice squad. Rinse and repeat in Seattle, though he at least got to stay more than a year there.

The Seahawks were willing to send him to Carolina because they drafted younger players and thought they could upgrade. Jackson started all 17 games for Seattle in 2022, but just four games in 2023. So he joined his fifth team in six seasons.

But rather than just picking up a short-term rental, the Panthers added someone who flourished in their system. Not only did he start all 17 games here, but he and Horn combined to break up 30 passes last season, the highest total for a cornerback tandem in the league. And Jackson had 17 of those.

And he earned the immediate respect of Horn upon arrival, and has become a trusted partner, and the guy he talks trash back to the offense with.

"When he first came in, I thought he was in like Year 9," Horn said. "He spent time in New England with (Bill) Belichick, one of the smartest minds ever, and just getting little tips and stuff from him has helped my game tremendously.

"And, just the mindset that we attack every day with, like you see us before practice getting releases in together, after practice, we get extra work. And we feed off each other, and try to help each other get better every day, so I'm definitely appreciative of him being here."

Of course, Jackson getting here and getting settled was a process unto itself.

The Panthers traded for him on Aug. 22, 2024. So he flew from Seattle to Charlotte for a quick hello, and the next day was on the team plane to Buffalo for the first preseason game.

So thinking back to what he was doing a year from now draws a laugh, because this is all so different.

"It was crazy," he recalled. "Because I flew in, got here at like 11 that night, and then went to sleep, woke up, took a physical all that, and they had the flight to Buffalo and then when I got there, guys were working out and I'm like, bro, I can't do nothing like I've been on the plane for like 8 hours."

So while fighting jet lag, he made Quizlet flash cards for himself to learn the differences between the Seahawks defense and this one.

"I mean, everybody runs the same defenses, but it's just different calls," Jackson said, with the benefit of seeing enough different systems in his career. "So like Cover 2 here might be green, but in Seattle, it was blue, so the first couple weeks I just told myself, all right, green is blue. So I got comfortable in the playbook, and I felt like I was able to just come in and play. I feel like that's a good part of being on multiple teams, you're not learning one thing forever."

Meanwhile, his wife was back home in Seattle and was happy to pack and move.

"She hated Seattle weather," he laughed. "So getting here, getting my kids situated in school and all that was a process, but it worked out for the good."

And it wasn't long before he was fully acclimated and able to focus on the football, and it didn't take him long to make his mark.

When the Panthers went to Las Vegas in Week 3, Jackson started talking with Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams from the jump. He gave up a completion to Adams in the fourth quarter, but turned around the next play for what amounted to a game-sealing interception.

Over the years, he's learned how to compartmentalize, how to forget, and how to move on.

"I was talking trash to 17, and then I gave up the pass, and he was talking trash back," Jackson said. "So I went to the sideline like, all right, bro, you dug yourself in the hole, get out of it, just go play the next play. Just relax and just play football. Sometimes I feel like I was so caught up in the schematics and just trying to detail the game in the past.

"Now it's just like just relax and go play. Make it fun."

That kind of perspective, and that kind of competitiveness, has allowed him to create a long career.

But it's also allowed him to find a new home and become known for being one of those guys, among guys who have been the guys here for years.