CHARLOTTE — Derrick Brown remembers the first time it came up, and he knew he didn't like it.

Even if he understood the point.

The Panthers defensive tackle takes pride in a lot of things, but one of the top items on his list is presence.

If there's a snap being played, he wants to be on the field. So telling him he needed a break wasn't for the meek.

"Ones I didn't really necessarily care for," he replied, when asked what he remembers about those first talks with the staff about monitoring his workload.

He said it with a little sigh, resigned to it now, and understanding the reasons are for the greater good.

"I think our training staff and our coaching staff, they've got a plan for me to be able to stay healthy throughout the season," Brown said Thursday. "And the ultimate goal is to be able to get to the postseason.

"So I think that's one of those things where, hey, I'm doing my part on this team, and that's all I can do."

Make no mistake, Brown's still playing a lot of football, 69 percent of the team's total defensive snaps this season. But he was closer to 90 percent right before the knee injury ended his 2024 season after the opener. In 2023, for a 2-15 football team, he played a ridiculous 940 snaps.

And it was a badge of honor for Brown. Not only was he one of the most impactful players in the game, but he was also ever-present.

So convincing him to accept any snaps off was a big ask.

That's why when it was time to broach the subject, there was a committee (strength in numbers) that included Panthers head coach Dave Canales, vice president of player health and performance Denny Kellington, and director of performance Josh Hingst.

"It's an organizational plan to make sure that Derrick can be at his best when he's out there for as long as possible; that's the reason behind it. It's by design," Canales said. "If you were to ask Derrick, if you were up here, he'd tell you you want to play 100 percent of the snaps, and that's just who he is.

"That's just how he plays football, but he trusts us, and we have a great plan, and he's been really effective so far."

Asking Brown about this reveals his feelings. His acceptance is grudging, because at 28 years old, he knows that doing this for 10 or 12 years might require the occasional sacrifice.

"I think I've always had the mindset of making an impact on what you get, right?" Brown said. "Like make an impact on what you get. So I mean that's really just my mindset of going out.

"So whenever my coach says something to me about it, so I don't know. I don't know what the count is going into the game. I prefer not to even talk about it with anybody. I'd just rather just go. They hide it in the rotation a little bit, but, you know, on Sunday it's not my job to question them. It's my job to go out and execute."

So that's what he does.

And at some point, defensive line coach Todd Wash has to tell him to stay with him on the sidelines and let someone else play.

Fortunately, all of this has been communicated in advance, because Derrick Brown is not a man who likes to be surprised.

"No, he's never receptive to playing less, but sometimes the program has to protect them from themselves," defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. "Derrick's great. He's a team guy. He certainly never wants to come off the field, but he understands the importance of that management, and we're playing a long game. And we certainly want to, not just Derrick, but all of the players, you know, I think Josh and Denny and their staff, they're doing a really good job of just making sure that we're all educated in terms of the workloads, not only in the short term, but also how those things are going to affect over the course of the year.

"And, so we're just trying to be mindful of those things and put our guys in position not only for success in the short term but also later in the season."

There's a reason for that, as Brown also wants to be as strong in the fourth quarter as the first, and in January as September. That's because he's one of the most impactful players at his position in the game.

That shows up in big ways (like tackles and blowing up the middle of the line so others can make tackles) and in small ways, like swatting down passes at the line of scrimmage — such as in the fourth quarter last week against the Eagles on third down.

That's a thing they work on during the week, and being massive certainly helps.

But Brown has developed a knack for it, tied for the league lead (among linemen) with five passes defensed this season. He has 32 since he entered the league in 2020, and only legendary Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward has more.

"He's got instincts for it," Evero said. "And some guys just have the natural timing of being able to rush and transition and understand, 'Can I go? I make that second move to go for the sack, or is this an opportunity for me to pull up and see if I can find the ball?

"And certain players are just way more ball aware, just like secondary players; certain guys can find the ball and get more interceptions. It's just almost an instinct or a knack for it. So, Derrick certainly has that and credit to him and coach Wash and all of those guys working through. Those are huge plays, because you never know where those balls are going to go."

So Evero's appreciative of those instincts and that talent, and has watched Brown grow since he arrived. When they met, Brown considered himself strictly a nose tackle, but has developed in many ways since, and has learned to play a number of positions up front to maximize his effectiveness.

"His football acumen has certainly grown a lot; his football understanding has grown," Evero said. "He's a leader. So all of those areas he's developed since we've been here together, and he's just a great human and a great personality, very likable, so he's got so much charisma to him that he's fun to be with. But then he's able to turn on that switch and, especially on game day, really be a force."

That makes it hard to take him off the field. But all of them have the same goal in mind.

So if that means taking a few snaps off on the third or fourth series of the game, and letting someone else have all the fun, that's something he's — grudgingly — willing to do.