CHARLOTTE — Ahh summertime, when things slow down, and you have a chance to reset for the long year to come. Or not, as the case may be.
Usually, this is the time of year when all the sports talk is just a version of Remembering Some Guys, that thing we do where we just say the names of former players to entertain ourselves. This takes on a lot of forms, from all-time lists to Mount Rushmores, anything to fill the space.
But even though we're in that long break between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, it never really stops. I mean, there will come a time in this Mailbag when I just run out of internet and stop typing and go on vacation or something, but the football never really ends.
Within one shift at Bank of America Stadium this week, I saw wide receiver Jalen Coker at the coffee machine before one of us went to work out (go ahead, guess which one), followed by special teamer Thomas Incoom walking in wearing the flag of Ghana like a cape around his neck in preparation for a triumphant night of World Cup, before I got wrecked later in the day by Sir Purr while walking down the hall not paying attention (seriously, you have to keep your head on a swivel when in the habitat of apex predators).
And it isn't just football, there's a lot going on.
Already this week, we've seen the Knicks win a world championship and bring together the most diverse city in the world in celebration, and it was beautiful, and the Carolina Hurricanes win one and bring together an entire state, whether we know the difference between icing and cake frosting or not. (#SelfAwareness, I'm a giant phony of a hockey fan, who usually starts watching after the NFL Draft until the beloved Canes lose. When I saw some hockey guy carrying the Stanley Cup while wearing the T-shirt of an ice cream company my niece works for [shout out Two Roosters], I asked my hockey-knower friends who it was, and they all responded with dismay, "Jordan Staal, you idiot, he's the one you should know." Sue me, he's the big one with a beard.)
And all that's a precursor to the World Cup, which is simply the perfect sporting event. As it turns out, people have a lot more in common than separates them, no matter where they're from. And what we all dig is seeing stars score goals, so this is a Messi-Mbappe-Kane-Haaland-Balogun appreciation zone. Which leads to rounds of Remembering Some (Soccer) Guys.
So we'll go through the last 'Bag of Mail before July, assess where we are, and wind down for a second. Or not. There's still a lot happening, and we've got a lot of cool stuff coming, so stay tuned.
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Loving the Jalen Coker extension, but I'm wondering about the timing. I thought rookies had to wait three years for new contracts? — Will, Rock Hill, SC
Yeah, that was a piece of news that happened while I was out of the office on special assignment (stay tuned), and Kassidy was all over it.
If they had drafted him in the seventh round two years ago, Coker would have had to wait a year for his payday. But undrafted players can be extended after two — making it a pair of good pieces of business for this front office: the original signing after the 2025 draft and this one.
As with most healthy negotiations, both sides definitely get something out of the deal.
The Panthers could have theoretically squatted on him for two years as an exclusive rights and a restricted free agent, at greatly reduced rates. So by providing some economic security for him sooner, they get a couple of what should be Coker's prime years before he becomes an unrestricted free agent (he'll turn 25 this season, so he'll be here through his 28-year-old season).
And having him here is the point.
When you look at the people Dan Morgan has extended as GM (Chuba Hubbard, Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn) there are some commonalities. The first is the work ethic, and Coker's is not questioned.
But mostly, it's about making plays, and the last time we saw Coker on the field in the playoffs, he made plenty of them.
So this was the natural, for lack of a better word, extension of their philosophy.
As mentioned above, he's still in the building working, which is one of the reasons he's worth keeping around. You never go wrong by surrounding yourself with grinders.
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Hi Darin! Reading the last Ask The Old Guy mailbag and seeing Zach going to college already (congratulations, Zach!), Jim - the Oldest Guy - moving to his new facility, gave me one of those moments that it's been some time since this Mailbag exists. A lot of questions, a lot of words, and a lot of patience from you to respond during that time. And the Panthers also came a long way during that time, and in a good way.
I can use the games that I was able to attend: 2022 vs the 49ers (the last Matt Rhule game - no need to say anything more); 2024 vs the Falcons (Bryce Young on the bench, Dalton and the offense scored enough, but the defense couldn't hold up anymore against the run in the second half, but the fight and direction were there). And now, hopefully, in January, me and my family can attend the Falcons game again - now with Bryce in command and the whole team on the rise. Looking at all that made me realize how lucky we all are to be able to see the team we all cheer for get better and share our thoughts with a lot of friends here. Before the question, a shout out to the Canes for reaching the Stanley Cup final - I can see their games here also! It's been building for eight years with Rod! (Also, I know I'm far and away from you all, but some division about Panthers being from Charlotte and Canes from Raleigh and fans complaining about the others seems so silly - we already are so divided everywhere, please unite and enjoy the good things! Enjoy both good seasons, and the Hornets and FC!)
Simple and quick question: Will the JJ and Luke podcast still happen during training camp and regular season? I guess Jordan (now OL coach at Utah) and Jake won't. JJ is a man of many hats, and he absolutely can handle a lot of things, but I don't know if, during the season, it'll be a little too much. Thanks! — Fernando, Sao Paulo, Brazil
The short answer to your eventual question is yes, the intention is for JJ and Luke to continue to podcast during the season. Players still have days off on Tuesdays, and Jansen has clearly shown the ability to multitask while playing in 277 consecutive games of NFL football (and we'll have more on that this summer). Kuechly is the busiest unemployed person you'll ever meet. Still, the same reason he continues to find time to do it is the reason it's a good podcast — the discussions between two inherently interesting people are interesting. They enjoy it as much as listeners and viewers do. So yes, long live the JJ and Luke podcast.
Gross having a day job at his alma mater complicates his podcast with Delhomme, so they may be on hiatus, though I'll never consider it over because it's also so much fun.
And all of that pours into the greater point — the collective experience is what this is all about. JJ and Luke, Jordan and Jake, Zach and Jim, Charlotte and Raleigh, the World Cup, when people get together, cool stuff can happen. That's why I love the 'Bag, there's something here for the entire world, and getting to be a small part of that makes me happy.
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With the UFL season wrapped up, are the Panthers interested in signing any of the guys from there? — Cliff, Cornelius, NC
The scouting operation is thorough, and they definitely look under every rock. But here's the thing: the roster has gotten progressively better over the last three years, and it's harder to find spaces for fringe players.
And nothing against the people in the UFL, but when NFL rosters are at 90 during the offseason, that means the dudes there aren't among the 2,880 best football players working.
Consider the league MVP, quarterback Jack Plummer. He threw for 17 touchdowns and just one interception in 10 games for the Orlando Storm this season, with a league-leading 2,189 yards and a 104.2 passer rating. Pretty good. He also spent a full season on the practice squad and another full offseason here, so they know him well.
Or consider the league sack leader and defensive player of the year, Cam Gill, who had 11.0 in 10 games for the Louisville Kings. Gill was here in 2024 as well, appearing in 10 games.
Again, Remembering Some Guys is having a big week.
That doesn't mean you don't look, you do. But as the roster improves, it's harder to find a place they fit.
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I don't like how the WR situation is mathing. Obviously, Tetairoa McMillan and Coker are our starters, but when it comes to depth, I am hoping that we remember that someone should have that Karl Hankton-style special teams role. Brycen Tremayne is big and a great blocker and special teams player. I fear the team won't roster him because of the numbers game. Are my fears without merit? I'll add that I get why Canales wants David Moore here, but I'd think Moore would be safe on the practice squad. We need a vet in the locker room, but do we necessarily need him on the 53-man roster? We did OK while he was injured last year. — Jase, Blue Springs, MO
You know, the only thing worse than having too many good and/or viable wide receivers? Not having enough. So they're definitely on the right side of the equation now. Considering some of the receiver groups Young has worked with in his time with the Panthers, this is where you want to be.
And if you're old enough to remember Karl Hankton, aka The Big Bang, you know that already. And for that fact alone, you're this week's Friend Of The Mailbag, who can look forward to the appropriate honorarium.
(Also, in the future, when we're standing around playing dudes' favorite game — Remembering Some Guys — DJ Chark, Jonathan Mingo, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Laviska Shenault, Terrace Marshall Jr., and Mike Strachan will fit right in with Karl Hankton. Panthers legends, one and all.)
Teams will usually keep six or seven wideouts (it's been seven here lately, but that's not written in stone), and the last one is almost always a special teams guy. And between Tremayne and Dan Chisena, they have a couple of excellent choices there.
So, once you consider McMillan, Coker, Xavier Legette, and Chris Brazzell II, that leaves one or two spots for Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr., John Metchie III, Ja'seem Reed, and others to fight for. Competition is good, and that applies to those first four names as well. Also, I'll believe Dave Canales has a roster without David Moore when I see it. He has dragged him from Seattle to Tampa to Charlotte for a reason, and that reason is he is reliable and smart and makes plays.
Sadly, there's also the possibility that someone gets injured at a certain point; this is still football. So you need extras. And in a way they haven't enjoyed in some time, they've got them.
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Hey Darin, my fellow FsOTM, and all you other swell folks who keep up with this excellent piece of Panthers fandom. I do not ask as many questions as I used to (turns out life with two kids can be quite preoccupying on the free time), but I am engaged in our Panthers as ever and couldn't be more excited for the upcoming season.
I do have a point of curiosity, though, and I wonder if OTAs have shed any clarity on this. Is there a sense of how this staff is feeling about their depth at inside linebacker? Behind Devin Lloyd, there is a ton of youth and unknown, which scares me if something were to happen to our new number 55, and I very much do not wish that on him or anyone, but this is football, and things can go sideways quickly. Thanks as always, Darin, and September can't come soon enough. — John, Waxhaw, NC
Don't go wishing days away, John, especially days with the little ones. Those are the fun ones.
As to the linebackers question, adding an All-Pro in Lloyd makes everything better, and not just the linebackers. His ability to cover from the middle of the field makes safety Tre'von Moehrig a more dangerous piece, among other trickle-downs.
But having him next to whoever he's next to will make that person better, and the staff probably likes the depth there more than you do.
Trevin Wallace will get the first crack at it, and he should benefit by having Lloyd with the green dot, allowing him to run. I've said before he gives me James Anderson vibes (another Remembering Some Guys legend), in that he's pretty good when he's next to a Jon Beason or a Dan Morgan. But they have a few other guys they like, even if they're not household names.
Claudin Cherelus is pretty good at football and has played well when he's had chances, but has had some unfortunate luck with injuries. Bam Martin-Scott is athletic in a way not every undrafted linebacker is, but he missed some time during the spring. Regardless, nothing's being given to Wallace; those guys are going to make him earn reps, and that competition is going to push the whole defense forward.
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Do our backup quarterbacks mimic Bryce Young's cadence in practice to help backup players, especially centers, learn it? — William, Mokelumne Hill, CA
Coaches are scarce this time of year, but quarterbacks coach Will Harriger was around this week, working ahead. So after we did a bit of Remembering Some Guys (Danny Tartabull! ... Rick Ankiel!), he actually got to talk granular football, which might be the only thing he likes more than rattling off old baseball dudes.
The short answer is yes, he wants Kenny Pickett and the rest of the quarterbacks to try to mirror the rhythm and flow of Young's cadence.
"The list of things I wouldn't stop to talk about snap counts is minuscule," Harriger said with a straight face.
The goal is to keep the words, syllables, and the pauses between them as constant as possible because this is football, and stuff happens.
The more consistent they are, the better chance you have for the pre-snap operation to be efficient if someone else is on the field, whether it's another quarterback, or another center, tight end, back, or receiver.
There are limits to everything. So far, Pickett hasn't been modifying words with "super" in interviews, but on the field, the goal is to have him sound as much like Young as possible.
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This year's Blueprint documentary about the draft was excellent (as was last year's). Can you share a bit about the team that put it together and how they go about capturing that level of detail? — David, Midlothian, VA
The first step is having a front office that's willing to let us stick cameras in draft meetings, combine interviews, and the draft room while the selections are being made. That requires them to trust us. Then it requires patience, because that's a lot of material.
But our longform video team has also taken weeks of footage and turned it into coherent wholes over the past few years, showing these transformative weekends in incredible detail.
There are four on staff devoted to producing, shooting, and editing these kinds of projects, plus additional cameras as needed to gather footage.
And it's not just draft shows, there are a lot of other cool projects, such as their look at the first hours of free agency, and more. You may have also heard that Luke Kuechly is going into the Hall of Fame soon, and I'd say the chances of cooking up something for that look pretty good.
It's a lot of work, but it's worth it to bring this stuff to the fans.
Coupled with our written content, photos, podcasts, social media, and more, you're simply not going to get this kind of content anywhere else. I come from an old-school newspaper background and still do my job similarly, but we've got a TV station, a radio station, and a movie studio under this roof as well. And it's cool when it all comes together on big stories like these.
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If Xavier Leggette does not have the breakout Dave and Co. hope he does, who do you think supplants him as WR3? Chris Brazzell? John Metchie? Someone else? But before I go, I'd like to say: Thank you, Zach. I deeply appreciated that shoutout from the last 'Bag, and there is a part of me that will miss having you 30-something minutes away from me, even though we've never met (insert Katniss Everdeen's three-fingered salute here). Also, Darin, if you need someone to yell at who is in school in the Charlotte area, I volunteer as tribute. And as always, KEEP POUNDING! — Micah, Gastonia, NC
Thanks for offering yourself up. Usually, when I need to yell, I find targets nearby, not always of their choosing.
As discussed above, they have a deep receiver group, with a lot of guys with different traits. Brazzell can be a knock-the-top-out deep threat, but he's a different fast than Horn, who can't do the things Moore or even Tremayne do. Metchie's got a rapport with Young going back to college that's helpful, but he's part of the bunch of guys fighting for roster spots.
My suspicion is that if it's not Legette, they'll use a collection of people in different ways, taking advantage of matchups and their varied skill sets. But most of the action is still going to go McMillan's way, and Coker's after that.
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I have Spectrum, and I am trying to get Panthers Huddle. Can you give me a time and station so I can watch? Thanks. — Tim, Lumberton, NC
Lumberton's kind of an in-between spot, but you should be able to see it on WRAL or WRAZ out of Raleigh. The full list of affiliates can be found here.
Dates and times are chosen individually by affiliates and are subject to change. The one place you can always find The Huddle is on the team's YouTube channel, which is available 24-7, across this great land of ours.
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Hey, Old Guy. Hope you are taking advantage of this offseason and getting some beach, mountain, backyard feet-in-the-kiddie-pool time so you can come back as Renewed Guy! Whatever the budget can handle.
I have an observation and a question. One of the things that is apparent these days is that a lot of the pundits out there, regardless of the medium, always criticize, looking for what's wrong instead of the positive, or at least be impartial. Mama told me if you can't say anything nice, keep it to yourself.
The question: The Panthers have made improvements in most areas of the team since Dan Morgan became GM. Tight end seems to be the exception ... still looking for the ghost of Greg Olsen... how about some positive shine? — Norm, Greenville, SC
Hot-taking your way through a conversation is low-hanging fruit, and that's enough for a lot of people. I'm fortunate to have been born without the gene that motivates me to say stupid stuff for attention, which can make me an outlier. The sad reality for a lot of sports talkers is that most good answers begin with "it's complicated," and require you to look at a number of factors that can change over time.
Kind of like tight ends. Would it be cool to have a Greg Olsen? Yeah, because Greg Olsen was awesome at football. He's still seventh all-time among tight ends in receiving yards and seventh in receptions, and ninth in touchdowns. He was also the first guy at his position to go for 1,000 receiving yards three straight years. That would ordinarily put him on a Hall of Fame trajectory, except for the fact that his contemporaries include guys above him on those lists like Jason Witten, Travis Kelce, and Rob Gronkowski, along with cats with similar but smaller numbers like Zach Ertz, Jimmy Graham, and George Kittle. In fact, Olsen's numbers are significantly better than the average Hall of Fame tight end, but the change he helped bring to the game has changed the math.
Likewise, the position and the way Canales uses it continue to evolve. The focal point of the passing game is going to be McMillan, and they have big targets alongside him. And the Panthers have a group of versatile tight ends who play a variety of roles. They were third in the league in usage of three-tight end personnel last year, and they'd have been higher if Ja'Tavion Sanders hadn't broken his ankle late in the year.
With the emphasis on the run game and the need for those blockers, I'm not sure this system is built for one of those guys like Olsen. It's a nice-to-have but far from a requirement.
Now, if another Olsen came along, would that be cool? Of course. For the football team and the podcast inventory.
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And on that note, let's go lightning round, brought to you by the patron saint of the lightning round Jeff from Fuquay-Varina, to close it out this week.
Is there any way the Panthers would replace the team's decades-old original song from Sweet Caroline to "Here Comes The Boom" from P.O.D? Or maybe use "The Boom" to introduce the 2026 Panthers each game? Sweet Caroline really should be retired and replaced with a more powerful, heart-pounding song. What do you think? — Ray, Garner, NC
It's a big world; there's room for both Neil Diamond and P.O.D., which I was previously unfamiliar with. (When I was growing up, "Christian metal" music meant Stryper, and Stryper was not a good band.)
The key to Sweet Caroline is the sing-along-ability of it. In case you haven't noticed, that communal experience is one of the themes this week.
Back in the Mailbag after almost a year. With an exciting roster that looks improved from an already good 2025, combined with a schedule of good opponents, it's hard to gauge what this season may look like. I'm very optimistic, but curious what your predictions may be. So my question is, is it dumb to say we might three-peat? Or is it safer to say five rings in a row? — Miles, Durham, NC
Welcome back. The Hurricanes have ushered in a new reign of dominance for the Carolinas, so I'm just assuming that the Hornets and Panthers are winning the next 10 titles each.
Who were some of the great players that came from Sam Mills' high school in Long Branch, New Jersey? — Willard, Toms River, NJ
Well, unless you're counting Eddie Balina and all of his old teammates who made the trek to Canton for his induction, I'm going to have to do some research.
How about that, it turns out former Major League pitcher, All Star, and NL rookie of the year John "The Count" Montefusco, who once threw a no-hitter, went there too. Post-career was messy. Not all Remembering Some Guys can be a Sam Mills. Few can.
Who do you like in the World Cup? — Bob, Belmont, NC
I like the United States, because I've seen with my own two eyes what Mauricio Pochettino and the power of belief can do. But I love England, because they've got Harry Kane and a ton of weapons. Three Lions, and a bunch of horses. I expect to be underwhelmed by France. Spain can't even beat Cabo Verde. Argentina has that Old Guy, but he is just one guy. But mostly, I like anyone who plays with joy.
Darin, please tell Zach he won't be the only Panthers fan in the Chicago area. We lived in Greensboro from 1993 to 2011. My son and daughter live downtown. Sam grew up with Cam and Luke stuff and does some analytics in his spare time.). Oh, and take the Architectural Boat Tour... #KeepPounding — Brad, Bartlett, IL
As Zach moves out into the world, I suspect he will find connections throughout, because that's what happens to curious people. But it's good to know that community will be waiting for him.
Long-time reader. First time I ever actually had a question that I was really curious about your answer. Would the Panthers even think about Brendan Sorsby in the supplemental draft? I could see taking a flier with a fifth-round pick, but I don't think they should go higher. Thoughts? I guess that's technically two questions, but I have loved your insight for a while. Been a fan of the Panthers since I was 15. Now 45. — Winslow, Seymour, IN
Winslow, as in former Panthers running back Winslow Oliver? We could keep Remembering Some Guys like this all day.
The pat answer on Sorsby is that they have a quarterback already, but they consider everything, and he's a big, strong dude who's mobile too. So he'd check a lot of the same boxes they were looking for when they signed Kenny Pickett to a one-year deal to be the backup. Many teams would feel the same way. But it's obviously complicated. And that's not a satisfying answer probably, but ... hey look, we're fresh out of internet for the day. See you in July, everybody.
