SAN FRANCISCO — It took approximately 24 hours for Jaycee Horn to make it out of Charlotte and to the West Coast, digging out of the near foot of snow in the Queen City to the point of thinking he'd be late for his flight, even preparing to pay people in the TSA line to let him skip, before his flight was delayed for the first time. Then it was delayed again, and again.

But by Monday morning, he was finally in sunny San Francisco, racing to the Pro Bowl Games field for his first practice of his second straight appearance on the roster.

It's where he's felt he was always meant to be, making consecutive Pro Bowls and proving his mettle as one of the best in the league. It just took a little longer to get here than he'd like, and we're not just talking about traveling this weekend.

"Obviously, you go through the type injuries and stuff like that, it comes up in the back of your mind, but I'm so focused on, I feel like I missed out on three Pro Bowls being hurt," admitted Horn Monday morning.

Various injuries, as extensively documented, shortened his first three professional seasons, allowing him to play only 24 games across three years. He's played in 31 the last two years, making Pro Bowls after both, and finishing in the top of the league both seasons in either interceptions or passes defensed respectively.

"I feel like I should have made a Pro Bowl every year if I were playing. So I'm so focused on just trying to keep my game at a high level and just seeing where it falls at the end of the day."

It took less than 24 minutes for Horn's Pro Bowl Games teammates to find him when he arrived Monday morning.

Brian Burns ran over expeditiously to try and catch Horn unaware for a social media challenge, asking him, "Do you ever wish you were athletic?" Horn didn't bite.

Former South Carolina teammate and current Packers corner Keisean Nixon zeroed in on Horn, immediately slipping into the competitive nature that has always defined their friendship.

"Me," declared Horn as to who was the better corner. "From day one, from day one, it's me. He's going to tell you it's him, but we've been competing since I was a pup," smiled Horn. "I say it's me."

And it took around 24 days for Horn to feel comfortable extrapolating all the complicated emotions that bubble up at the end of every season, exasperated by disappointment at feeling, the way he explains it, one second away from a playoff win.

"Obviously, you're upset when you lose a playoff game at home, and it was a tough loss, last second," breathed Horn, letting his mind go back to that night once again, before everything clears again.

"But, when you sit back and just look at where we were, like a guy like me, my rookie year, and the years after that, to see how far we came, that this past season was definitely a win to get to the playoffs, but we can make that next level jump, and I think we will."

It's a mindset and approach emblematic of football as a whole: both teams and individual players like Horn wanting to reach the pinnacle as quickly and as successfully as possible, but having to accept the reality that the process can be slow at times.

"I mean this, it kind of just is life," proffered Horn. "Everybody got different paths and different highs and lows they got to go through, and I kind of look at it that way. All I could do is try to capitalize on the opportunities I have now.

"I've been healthy the last two years, been to two Pro Bowls, and now I'm just trying to keep that going and maybe just keep racking them up year after year after year. Maybe I can catch up, and I won't even think about the three I missed before," he laughed. "But yeah, I know it's just still a blessing to be in this league and make money playing a kids' game.

"So I kind of think of it like that and just keep rolling with the punches."

Next, Horn wants an All-Pro season. But that's a secondary wish at this point. More than anything, he wants to see his team go further than the high point they achieved this season.

"For me, I'm mainly just thinking team. Like we had a successful year this year in going to the playoffs, and I feel like we kind of figured out how to win and figured out what winning feels like," shared Horn.

"And I'm so excited for next year to get back and go and be going to these games with everybody actually believing, actually believing we can get it done and seeing how next season goes."

It took less than 24 months for Horn to really internalize that belief, though. When Dave Canales was first hired in January of 2024, he came in full of hope, confidence, and encouragement. But lots of coaches arrive that way, when it's springtime, and everything is good.

"Usually, coaches during OTAs and stuff like that, all of them lay back and kind of chill cause we ain't really got no opponent, we just going against each other," laughed Horn.

But he'd been playing in the league for three seasons and had been through four head coaches (including interims) by then.

"To myself, I was thinking, 'We'll see when we get through the season, we take a big loss, and we're taking all these criticisms.' Some coaches switch up and come in there, trying to be stricter and change his schedule 100 times. But he was literally just the same guy every day. So, he showed you who he is. You have no choice but to believe him. He's consistently doing that every day."

It's an infectious attitude that embedded itself in the 2025 Panthers, pushing the group to stay steady regardless of the scoreboard, the record, the playoff chances, or, in Horn's case, the past injuries.

"What he pushed through to the team and how he shows up every day, the same guy, he stays so positive," shared Horn.

"I think that took over our mindset, and we would just show up on Monday and be ready to work, win, lose, or draw, and just the preparation we put into it, OTAs, all the stuff, the team camaraderie, camp. I feel like all that was a way and a part to us having a good year.

"He was the same guy every day, and it just, I feel like that helped us be successful."

Before long, Jerry Rice came around, herding his players towards the center of the field for practice, walking them through drills and scrimmages as Horn cut up with Nixon, the two taking turns facing off on either side of the line of scrimmage. It's the kind of postseason activity with which Horn has become comfortable, and with which he hopes to become synonymous.

But with less than 24 hours until this year's Pro Bowl Games are concluded, Horn is already turning his attention to what's next.

"Our main focus now is just, we done touched the playoffs. Now, just getting to the next level of the Super Bowl, and I believe we can do it."