CHARLOTTE — It's often said in football, "there are 11 guys and only one ball." It's a reminder to be unselfish, do your part on every play, and, perhaps most importantly, not pout if you are a pass catcher who doesn't get the ball on a play.

It's a noble lesson. But there's another one the Panthers' pass catchers have implemented this offseason; not one that usurps anything, but one that adds to it. After a play, everyone touches the ball.

The thought process is simple. After a play in team drills during a practice, whoever catches the ball tosses it to someone else involved in the play. It passes through a few hands until it makes its way back to an equipment guy.

"You just want everybody to get a feel for it, you know," explained David Moore. "You know, just one guy got the ball, so hey, just toss it. Just everybody keep your hands warm type deal, keep it moving."

It was something Moore remembers doing in high school, and even when he first played under Dave Canales with the Seahawks in Seattle. But the practice had not really made its way to this team in Charlotte yet. Then, Canales noticed Tetairoa McMillan and Xavier Legette.

"These are two guys that just love to play. They love to play football. You can feel the joy in them," Canales bragged about his two young receivers. "You can see them even in routes on air. They'll catch a ball. They'll put it away, burst, and then they're looking for the other one. They're throwing it across the field, playing catch.

It was McMillan who first started tossing the ball around after a play during rookie minicamp, then OTAs, and it shows his coach, "(McMillan) fits right into this room, you know, and, for two young guys, that we hope and expect to be here for a long time, it's about enjoying it, you know, it's about having fun."

The Panthers' first-round receiver, TMac, developed this habit while at Arizona in college. When he arrived in Charlotte as an NFL rookie, it was important to him to bring along the tradition.

"When there's only one quarterback, only one person can touch the ball, you know, he only throws the ball to one person, so you know I tried to make sure in college that everybody touched the ball and when I got here, I tried to do that and all the guys are kind of going along with it," McMillan shared.

"So you know, just being able to—everybody gets some touches—you know, sometimes the plays are designed for a certain person, certain someone, everybody else doesn't get to touch the ball. So, some people don't even catch the ball the whole day. So just being able to just let everybody feel involved, everybody get touches is pretty important to me for sure."

Over the course of OTAs, the practice was spread throughout the receiving corps and tight end group, until it became common to see the ball being tossed around in a game of catch after every play, regardless of who caught the ball initially. It's a mindset of selflessness and "we make us" that Canales has preached since arriving. And in one small act, he's seeing it come to fruition.

"This game is meant to be fun, and they're also wired the right way, where they're grinding, they're working hard, and they're studying. It means something to them, but I just love seeing their personalities come to life."