CHARLOTTE — There's the old Ernest Hemingway line from "The Sun Also Rises," where one character is asked how he went bankrupt and replies: "Two ways. Gradually, and then suddenly."

But in the story of the Panthers' first day of free agency, it was almost the opposite. And it took almost half a day to get from the first chapter to the last, and the sun had definitely set by then. And instead of going broke, they landed the top two players in the market at their biggest positions of need.

The first big piece of news happened early in the day on the West Coast for one of the targets, the next happened after a transatlantic flight with a stop in Charlotte got the other one back to Florida after dark.

The day really got going when some of them were in the shower, or working out — not expecting it to happen so fast.

The next big piece of news happened while some of them were in bed because they're responsible, or pacing the hallway outside the room where it happened like an expectant father in a black-and-white movie, or sitting on the floor, or crashing on any couch they could find.

By the end of a workday that was pushing 17 hours for some of them, the Panthers finally (or again) fell asleep with two priority free agents, pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd, the targeted strikes they dreamed about but weren't sure they could actually land.

But to land them, it took months of work, the kind of preparation you have to put in if you want to move fast without breaking things.

And in the end, the only thing they might have broken was the fire code in executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis' office.

It's a nice office, floor-to-ceiling windows, lots of good light. His desk, a couch on the opposite wall, and two short arm chairs in front of the desk. Seats five or six comfortably.

But last Monday, there were more than could be seated comfortably, and until the calls started getting answered, no one was all that comfortable anyway.

Tilis was in his chair, general manager Dan Morgan was on the couch with head coach Dave Canales. But the room also included director of pro scouting Lee McNeill (Morgan's right hand when it comes to free agency), pro scouts Adam Maxie and Juston Burris, vice president of football analytics Eric Eager, and football administration coordinator Justin Davidov (the Panthers' primary contract analyst). Others were around the periphery, but that was the core group.

When the negotiating period began, Burris, the seven-year NFL safety who played his final season here in 2022, was one of the ones without a seat.

"Just glad to be in the room," Burris laughed.

And this was definitely the room where it happened last Monday.

But there wasn't a fixed seating chart, so every time someone got up to take a call or go to the bathroom, they'd move up a spot like a volleyball team.

"Dan should get to sit wherever he wants," Davidov joked. "But he's not too picky. It's funny because it is a little bit of musical chairs; you're getting up all day, and walking around or talking to different people in the room, so we were rotating chairs throughout the day."

But as the clock approached 12 and the negotiating period began, everyone settled into their spots, and it got mostly quiet.

It was about to not be quiet for a minute, or at least about 40 of them.

McNeill said that as noon approached, there was a sense of calm throughout the room.

That's because, as Morgan, Tilis, and Canales have entered their third offseason together, they've created some proof of concept. Whether it's been in two active free agencies where they've landed core pieces such as Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis and Tre'von Moehrig — and all of them quickly, in the opening hours of the market — or with the way they've decisively moved around or not moved in the draft, taking offensive rookie of the year Tetairoa McMillan instead of accepting a big deal on the table from the Rams, they've earned a measure of trust.

That comes from Morgan being a prolific preparer, just as he was when he played linebacker here. If you're ever looking for him during the season, he's probably in his office or the draft room breaking down tape.

But building that trust also comes from going from two wins to five to eight and a home playoff game, but these guys have agency, and are allowed to move quickly.

"They empower us to do our jobs," Davidov said simply, though that's a big statement about an organization that's created a new sense of stability.

"It's a lot at once," McNeill said. "I wouldn't say chaotic, but there's a lot going on in a short amount of time. And it's amazing to see how Brandt and Dan work in that environment because there's so much going on and so many things happening that they have to, particularly Brandt, has to digest so much at once and then make sound decisions in a short amount of time.

"So it's a very chaotic time. But at the same time, we feel like we're prepared."

Months earlier, Morgan and the pro scouting staff had put together their free agency plans. They knew they were 28th in the league in sacks last year, even with Derrick Brown registering a career-high 5.0, and rookie Nic Scourton showing promise. They also rolled through four different green-dot linebackers over the course of the season, between strategic decisions and injuries. And these are the Panthers, a team defined by Hall of Famers Sam Mills and Luke Kuechly, with Morgan and Jon Beason and others between. They needed that guy.

So they walked into Tilis' office and got to work.

It goes without saying this is serious stuff. Tilis negotiated, and Davidov filed over $165 million worth of deals last Monday. But this group has always shown the ability to keep things light as well, like the time Morgan looked up in the draft room and saw Tilis wearing his old 55 jersey.

When Davidov, a former quarterback at Gettysburg College who worked for the league office prior to coming here, is asked what it's like to be in that room as this was going on, he broke into a grin.

"It's like watching Picasso paint in his prime," he cracked, before pivoting to the reason it works for them. "No, I mean, they've done it for years. So for a day that's so intense and is moving fast, they're calm, and they're never stressing. They have a plan. They do a great job, the months leading up with our pro scouts and coaches identifying a plan, so they're just really following that during the day, and coach, Dan and Brandt, they're just in general very upbeat. So while it is an intense environment, kind of like the draft, they're definitely putting the whole group at ease, right?

"It's like that because we enjoy working together. I think you have to. We spend a ton of time with each other and there are big decisions being made, and I think it's very collaborative and the only way to do that is to, I mean, enjoy your company and who you work with."

But shortly after 12, it did get serious for a moment.

Pass-rushers are a scarce commodity. You either draft them high or trade multiple high picks for the opportunity to acquire one.

Elite pass-rushers who actually hit the market are rare. Elite pass-rushers who hit the market and are also under the age of 30 are practically non-existent. So Phillips was their primary target, and their first call.

And for a bit, their only call. Because they had locked in on Phillips as their preferred option, that offer was the first one to go out, and it was aggressive. If they could get Phillips, that would change everything the rest of the day, the rest of the week, the rest of the offseason, really. So Tilis made that call, made an aggressive offer, and then they waited.

"Oh, there's nervousness for sure because you never know how these things are going to play out," McNeill said. "And, once you kind of get your mind set on the guy, you don't want to think about the idea of losing him.

"So, there's definitely a nervous energy, but Brandt and Dan are just so calm and collected that you feel good about where things are going and then when it finally happens, ... it's pretty cool."

They didn't have to wait long.

By 12:49 p.m., there was a fresh story on Panthers.com referencing the latest addition to the team. Jaelan Phillips was coming to Charlotte.

McNeill, who was part of the first football recruiting class at UNCC in 2012, was asked what it's like to see a deal of that size happen in less than an hour from across the desk from Tilis.

"It's pretty wild when you think about it, but he's very good at what he does," McNeill said. "We got full trust in him that he's going to make the right decisions for us, and we couldn't be more excited about how things played out."

"There was some clapping, there were some high-fives. There might have been a chest-bump," Davidov said.

There were even more exuberant reactions throughout the building.

Every day at lunch, outside linebackers coach AC Carter and secondary coach Renaldo Hill go for a walk around downtown Charlotte. So while Tilis and Morgan and more people than there were seats were settling into the EVP's office, they hit the streets. Usually two or three miles, enough to clear their heads in the middle of the day (coaches start early).

"We try to go for about 45 minutes," Carter said. "Just enjoy the uptown area really and circle a couple blocks, make our way back here eventually. Get outside, get some fresh air."

Monday, it was closer to two miles, because frankly, they were kind of excited about what might be going on back in the building. So Hill came in to grab a quick shower and heard the notification on his phone. He immediately texted Carter, who ran to the weight room to bring the news to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

"I saw E finishing his workout, and I said, 'We got it done!" Carter said.

Evero is not a man given to overreaction. But he's also been looking for a guy like Phillips for years; every coach is.

So what was Evero's face like when you told him?

"It was joy. It was joy for him," Carter said. "You can tell he was pretty fired up, a nice cheesy smile, which he deserves. He definitely deserves that, so that's cool. It's going to be good."

"I was in disbelief," Evero admitted. "There really wasn't a lot of anxiety, just because we had a plan. We've gone through it, we knew that a lot of times these things come down to dollars and cents, and so you know I have a lot of faith in our front office and Dan and the staff to make the right moves and the right decisions. So, there wasn't a lot of stress. We did all our work, we watched the tape, we had the meetings, we talked about these guys endlessly.

"And so I think at this point, it's their game day to go get it done. So no stress on my part, but certainly happy about the results."

And the fact it happened so quickly allowed him to relax a little.

After all those gradual months of work, the Panthers suddenly had their pass-rusher.

And then, they had time to kill.

It would be another six hours before their next deal, with Kenny Pickett to come in to compete for the backup quarterback job.

And they definitely wanted to get younger at that position, but the backup quarterback was also not the main focus of the first day, either.

When you're looking for linebackers, you have the ability to use time as a tool, and that's what happened on Monday.

After the rush of euphoria at the Phillips deal in the first hour, the Panthers had the chance to settle in and wait. People got up from Tilis' office and worked on other things. There were more calls happening then, not as locked in on the one deal that would change everything.

So they did what football guys do at times like this. They cracked jokes. They scrolled through social media, reacting to the latest moves.

"Everyone enjoys it just like the fans out there, going through Twitter all day, it's captivating," Davidov said. "And it is thrilling to see the negotiation go from the starting point to the finish."

But the starting point of the first one to the finish point for the last one was more than 10 hours. So that's a lot of day to fill scrolling.

"At one point, I think Brandt asked if we should all go to the movies," Davidov said.

They did not go to the movies. At one point before the Pickett deal, someone picked up sandwiches from La Lima, and they were stacked in the nearby boardroom with a hand-written sign that said: "Do Not Touch."

But the mood was mostly light, because they knew they were in for a long night.

"As hard as they work, it's also fun," said Claire Stokes, manager of player personnel, who sits just down the hall between Morgan and Tilis' offices. "It's pretty common to hear that Brandt laugh coming out of there throughout."

As the sun began to set, the linebacker market was picking up.

Longtime Saints nemesis Demario Davis went back to the Jets a little after 1 p.m., not long after Phillips agreed to the Panthers deal (though at 37, he was older than they were looking for). Tremaine Edmunds, who was spotted in Charlotte over the previous weekend (his girlfriend lives here), agreed with the Giants around 3:15 p.m.

But a lot of quality guys were hanging around until the late afternoon and early evening.

The Raiders struck quickly at a pair of young targets, both of whom the Panthers had discussed (let's face it, they discuss everyone). Just after 6 p.m., the Raiders landed former Packers starter Quay Walker, and about five minutes later, also reached a deal with Nakobe Dean.

Linebackers were flying off the market, but so were chairs for the remaining guys to sit in.

Free agency is an interesting market dynamic, because people are bidding on vastly different commodities at the same time, and runs on a certain position happen, because no one wants to be left without one.

But as the Panthers scanned their board, after the Walker and Dean deals happened, there were dwindling options, but also dwindling buyers. A lot of the teams that needed a starting-caliber signal caller had one by that time.

But Devin Lloyd was still available. And honestly, he was just then getting back to his house. He was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean when Phillips agreed to his deal, stopping in Charlotte for a layover here before getting back to his home in Jacksonville around the time Pickett's deal came through. So he didn't miss a lot, and the Panthers wanted to make sure they didn't miss him.

He was the one they wanted, so they were willing to wait. If he elected to go somewhere else, they'd have pivoted, but they made that calculated play to ride it out.

"I think we're talking about those guys all throughout the day," McNeill said. "And then when you start to see a couple of them go, you begin to wonder, what's going to happen with these other guys, because we all have a good idea of what teams need what. And once they start to fill their spots, there's only in our eyes, a handful of teams that have a chance of getting these guys.

"So it becomes, well, maybe we can realistically get two of these guys."

While all this is happening, the college scouts are meeting all day in the draft room. Work goes on, and football people are amazing at compartmentalization. But at a certain point, the college scouts were finished, but nobody left.

McNeill walked down the hall to director of college scouting Jared Kirksey's office, and the vibe there was the same mix of anticipation and boredom.

"I walked down to Jared's office, and a couple of people were sitting on his couch," McNeill said. "And they're just kind of waiting to see what the verdict was going to be."

With every second that ticked off the clock, and every dollar spent elsewhere, the Panthers were growing more and more confident they might get their other guy. But waiting is still hard, and requires discipline.

(Being willing to be patient also paid off Friday, when they were able to land the top left tackle on the market, reaching a one-year deal with Rasheed Walker that no one saw coming.)

"I mean, you go into it not really thinking you would get both of those guys," McNeill admitted. "And then as the day wears on, it kind of gets in your head about, maybe we can get Devin. So, as the day goes on, it slowly kind of creeps into your head, maybe this is possible. And then once you get in the afternoon and realize that, yeah, maybe we do have a chance to get this guy, you get more excited.

"And then as you kind of wait it out and see things, how things progress, there's definitely a nervous energy to it, but then when it finally happens, it's pretty incredible."

Still, there were several more hours to wait, making some of them wonder if they should have taken up Tilis when he offered a trip to the movies.

By that point, the coaches had gone home, and since he's a creature of habit, Evero was preparing to go to sleep when his phone rang at 10 p.m., when the news came through that Lloyd was about to make his second flight to Charlotte in a week.

"I was lying in bed when I found out about Devin," Evero laughed. "I was getting ready to fall asleep, and then Dan called me, then Dave called me, so yeah, it was hard to go back to sleep after that."

It was nearly midnight before he was able to wind down enough to doze off, which is tough for a creature of habit like Evero, because the alarm goes off at the same time every workday morning.

"It's unusual, but, hey, I will take that," Evero said. "That was such a great day that there's really nothing that could get me down right now."

Evero was so content with the idea of landing the top young pass-rusher on the market that he was ready for a peaceful night's sleep, not realizing what was coming next.

"I mean, that was probably enough for me," he laughed at the thought of "only" getting Phillips. "But that was a good day."

Back at the office, the day wasn't over, not yet. There was still a waiting room full of expectant fathers (and mothers) who had been waiting to see if Morgan and Tilis were going to be able to deliver the linebacker.

"It was awesome; Everybody was fired up," McNeill said. "We have some of our college staff here who are working in the draft room, and then everybody just kind of hung out and waited to see what happened. So it was really just all of us either in Brandt's office or crowded around Brandt's office waiting to see what happens. Everybody else is gone, the hallways are dark, and then we find out, and everybody's super excited and relieved at this point."

Once the agreement is reached with the agent, there's paperwork to do.

Davidov sends a watermarked agreement letter to the league office, signaling the intent to do the deal (contingent on passing a physical after the start of the league year).

When he looked back at the agreement for Lloyd, it went into the league at 10:58 p.m.

"We're all fired up," Davidov said of the moments after he pushed the button. "I think we felt great. We were just laughing, I guess celebrating, we felt really good about the guys that we got."

Partially, that's because the Panthers filled two major needs on the football field.

But also, because in the span of a day, everything can change. And it did. And because of the changes they've made around here, being able to bid for the top players like Phillips and Lloyd, and to go to sleep at night having signed both of them, was huge. Anyone can spend a lot of money and get one guy like that. Signing two of the top free agents at their positions (or three, by the end of the week) happens when you're building something stable.

"I think that's a testament to Dan and Brandt and Justin, and just their kind of foresight of how we can make it work," McNeill said. "And then our coaches and coach Canales and just the environment that everybody's created here. Guys want to come here, and guys see potential here to help us get to where we want to be.

"I mean, I think everybody sees what's going on here and the leadership we have here, and it's definitely something you want to be a part of. Because you feel like we've got a lot of young pieces here and a lot of just the right guys here who play the right way, and love football. And I think if you're that type of guy and you see it on tape and you see it from afar, you know it.

"So I don't think for me it'd be a very tough sell, but it's really cool getting there."