CHARLOTTE — Claudin Cherelus got home last night, the time when most players turn off their brains and begin to recover, but the game stayed with him.

"It hurt, I shed a few tears, I'm not going to lie," admitted Cherelus on Sunday, standing in front of a locker half bare that he was in the midst of packing up on Panthers locker clean out day. "That was all I could think about. It stung, it hurts, just one of those games you go back and look at."

Nickel Chau Smith-Wade, sitting in front of his locker just a little over 12 hours after the Panthers fell 34-31 to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round of the playoffs, stared off as he admitted he'd spent the interim thinking only of the result.

"I kind of just been holding my head on this game, different plays that could have been made, plays that were made," shared Smith-Wade. "I barely got any sleep last night, being real. I was just thinking about the game."

But while football is measured on the field in absolutes and wins or losses that are easily quantified, a team's success rate often lives in the margins. What was at each team's disposal as they started the year? Were there any contributing or mitigating factors out of their control? Is everything that happened being compared relative to history?

Those are the questions peppering the conversations and narratives swirling around about the Carolina Panthers right now, considering that in the second-year of a new regime, and just two seasons after going 2-15, the club fought for a NFC South title, hosted a home playoff game as a result, and went toe-to-toe with the likely MVP, and a Super Bowl contender.

And for the most part, the answer to those questions—both outside and in the locker room—lend themselves to optimism.

"It's just going to springboard us to next year," promised receiver Jalen Coker. "It's just unfortunate the way that it kind of ended, but ultimate faith in everyone that's here, and we're just going to continue to build off this."

Athletes are the ultimate competitors, so of course, they are going to be a bit maudlin after a playoff loss.

"Guys are going to hold their heads, and it's because we didn't get that last game," continued Smith-Wade. "That's the ultimate goal when you're working from OTAs all the way through the season, then you're in a postseason. We didn't get here for nothing; we want to take it all."

But they can also look at where they were, how far they've come, and where it means they can go next. It's that kind of hopefulness that had Yosh Nijman practically giddy as he passed around a jersey for his teammates to sign, the first time he's done so on locker clean-out day in his seven seasons.

"This year was special for the guys, so I just wanted to get everyone's signature. We went to the playoffs, first time since 2017, first time winning the division since 2015," explained Nijman.

It should be noted that the offensive lineman spent his first four seasons with the Packers, during which time he went to and played in the postseason. But in two short seasons—2025 especially—Nijman, who will be a free agent this offseason, found himself completely bought in to the culture shift in Carolina.

"I know the amount of success the team had in the last few years hasn't been much, but coming in these last two years, helping change the culture means the most.

"The last year has been so much fun for me. It's the most fun I had in my career. The guys are great, the coaching staff is great. The city is great… the guys playing in tough games, winning close games, just coming to work every day, the camaraderie, the laughs, the ups and downs.

"We can be as good as we want to be. I think we showed glimpses of that this past season. I think for the most part next year will be mostly about consistency and execution, all three phases of football for us."

To pave the path forward, though, will mean evaluating what got them here.

"Belief, I would say," shared Canales of what changed this season. "It's an expectation to win, proving to our players—as a staff we have to prove to our players that when we do things right, we can play with anybody, we can beat anybody."

The Panthers came into this season perceived as a sneaky team that could make noise in their division. But few predicted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stumbling through the second half of the season, the Panthers knocking off two No. 1 teams in the NFC, and sweeping the Falcons.

It was a sequence of events that provided both a foundation and a jolt to Carolina, proving to themselves that they have everything they need to make a run even farther next season. How it came about is also a sobering reminder that nothing is assured.

"We have to make sure that that's pushing us to not just try to be back and think that it's entitled," said quarterback Bryce Young. "We have to go and be better. I'll continue to build. I'll continue to grow. I'm excited, I'm excited for this group to be."

The season also created a series of circumstances that proved to everyone in the building that they could take punch after punch and still get up to respond.

"Just the resilience of the group dealing with adversity in game," said Canales, of what he learned about his team. "But then also throughout the season, with the ebbs and flows of an NFL season, to watch a group just come back to work and to be really curious and coachable, curious about how we can improve things, and then being coachable on the principles and the fundamentals, the things that we should be reminding each other of.

"And I just watched the group just take the notes, take the coaching, ask questions, and just keep pressing in so that we could continue to grow in all of our phases."

That growth shows itself in a multitude of ways. On defense, there is a young core group, partnered with veterans like Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and others, learning lessons that only come with experience and creating calluses that will pay dividends.

"We definitely proved to people just by the fight that we put in the whole season and that game that we deserve to be in that setting," preached Smith-Wade, "a playoff setting, and perhaps a Super Bowl setting, but at the same time we didn't get that big game.

"We can be a playoff-contending team and a little bit more. I mean, if you're not trending in the other direction, what are you doing? So, we have the leaders to do so. We have a staple in our core values and our philosophy, and what we want to take and to go forward."

On offense, the Panthers have seemingly found their long-term quarterback, top two receivers, and an identity in the run game that can carry them for the foreseeable future.

"Just super proud of this team," bragged Young. "Special group, special locker room, the way that we fought and battled last night, I think that's a microcosm of the season; just responding, fighting back, again, obviously it's still fresh, still tough, but I'm super excited for our future."

Added receiver Tetairoa McMillan, "We always compete with each other, we want to make each other as good as we possibly can be, and everybody steps up, everybody shows up and is willing to make plays when the time is needed.

"I feel like that obviously playoff games and games in January are kind of where you make a name for yourself in this league, and I'm pretty sure Bryce put a lot of people on notice of what he can do, as well as what this team is capable of doing."

These are all just pieces, though, part and parcel of a larger picture, a greater identity of who the Panthers want to be moving forward. And while each year is its own entity, it doesn't exist in a vacuum. The results of one year oft begets another, whether it's a continuation or a response with changes.

The 2025 season helped Carolina figure out who they can be and who they want to be on a consistent basis moving forward. There are holes to fill, as every team must do each offseason, and evaluations to be made from the top down. Injured players will return, and others—like left tackle Ikem Ekwonu—now have a long road ahead of them.

Free agents will come and go, the draft will bring in another crop of rookies, and the 2026 season will be here in eight short months. And with it, another chance to show the rest of the NFL who the Carolina Panthers are in this league.

The trick now for Canales and crew is marrying the mindset that worked for the Panthers this season and maintaining it this coming season, in which they will be a favorite.

"We've operated really well being the underdog, it's that mentality…the guys having that kind of chip on their shoulder to work for everything; everything's earned," explained Canales.

"I love that mentality, and how do we keep that intact? What are we pursuing? We're trying to find our best; we're trying to find the best football we can play, and that was the 2025 Panthers. As we go forward in 2026, it'll be the same pursuit. I think that works. I think that's a timeless approach. Can we find our best? That's what we'll be committed to."