CHARLOTTE — It was almost two years ago when David Moore got a phone call from Dave Canales. The receiver was sitting on the porch at his house—"ranch," he interjects. Pardon, when David Moore was sitting on the porch at this ranch, and his phone rang.

It was his former coach from both Seattle and Tampa Bay, asking him to give up the ranch he was starting to build to come join a team that had accumulated two whole wins the year before and an offense that had just finished last in total yards, passing yards, and scoring.

Moore had spent a short stint in Carolina before, during the 2021 offseason. He knew some of the foundational players that were brought in that year, like Jaycee Horn, Chuba Hubbard, and Tommy Tremble. He also knew it was a place that just needed someone to believe in them.

"I knew they wanted to win, you just got to find someone that believes in them as much as they believe in themselves, and Dave is the perfect guy for that," Moore reflected this week, ahead of the Panthers first playoff game since 2017.

"He believes in you more than—he believes in you when you don't believe at all. So that's always something that you can lean on when somebody believes that much."

That's also something he wanted to be a part of. So he packed up his bags and came east, joining a receiving corps that was figuring itself out, and becoming a safety blanket for Bryce Young along the way. He finished the 2024 season with 32 receptions for 351 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 18 first downs.

With Adam Thielen traded away just before the start of the season, Moore—30 years old—was set to be the old head in a group who, without him, currently carries an average age of 23.8 years old. But in Week 4, he suffered an elbow injury that would sideline him for the rest of the regular season.

"The unknown is always what hurts everybody," admitted Moore this week. "So, just stayed prayed up and keeping my faith strong and knowing there's hope at the end.

"My hope was making the playoffs and hopefully getting back, and here it is. So I'm ready to take it on."

This isn't the first time Moore has been in a situation such as this, waiting on the sideline most of the season, biding his time until he can get on the field. The situation was different in Tampa Bay, when the veteran was on the practice squad until Week 12, and didn't make a catch until Week 14.

Once that first catch happened, though, Moore became a small but vital part of an offense that muscled its way into the postseason. He finished those seven games in the regular season and two games in the playoffs with eight catches on 11 targets for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

"Just wait till your number's called, and when it's called, just make sure you're ready," he preached the lesson from that time. "So that year in Tampa helped me out a lot, you know, just staying ready and staying ready, ain't got to get ready is what I was always told.

"This little injury kind of helped me take a step back and really take it all in and get ready for when that number is called and when I'm able to do my role. So, yeah, it's been bittersweet, but I take it day by day."

Much like when on the field, Moore's simple presence has been enough to boost Young and the rest of the offense. The receiver stayed in Charlotte for the duration of his recovery, ensuring he attended practice every day and meetings.

"Throughout this whole process—even though he obviously hasn't been able to play—in the building, he's still been huge for us," shared Young on Tuesday. "He's still been brings great energy every single day; a veteran presence for us in that receiver room.

"We trust in him, we know exactly what he brings. He's been in a lot of different moments, a lot of different positions. He's been very, very consistent on the field. So I have a ton of faith in him, a ton of confidence, and it's great to—I'm excited for him."

To Young's point, Moore has been in six playoff games during his eight-year career. He understands how to manage those emotions before and throughout the game. It's the kind of valuable experience that led Canales to call Moore in the first place two years ago.

"Oh man, playoff is fun," Moore grinned. "Playoffs is what you play for, so it's big at the same time, but also at the same time, it's just another football game. That's how you got to take it. That's how you have to go at it and know that it's either win or go home.

"So I know people don't want to go home, so you better leave it all on the field, and that's all we can do."

Moore hopes he can be on the field this weekend when the Panthers host the Rams in the wild card round. He was activated back to the 53-man roster on Tuesday, one of the final hurdles to make that happen. Canales told reporters on Tuesday that having Moore and offensive lineman Robert Hunt here to help in the postseason was always the plan.

"Now they're ready, and we have this window to evaluate the guys, to get David back on the team, and evaluate if we can have him up this week or not."

Regardless what happens with David Moore between now and Saturday, and for that matter, how he might impact the game this weekend, simply being in this spot is the culmination of goals he had in himself, and the belief he had in the marriage of Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers.

"You've seen it game after game toward the end of the year last year and then this year leading into this one. You see the different fight," bragged Moore. "You go into these long games, these last drives, and you see the fighting, you see the fight and all the guys around, and you just see the camaraderie of each other, just playing for each other.

"It's just a beautiful thing to see, and that's what you kind of feed off of and take it like that. So you know, I had big hopes for Dave coming and changing, and here we are."