CHARLOTTE — It might have taken several weeks for Jalen Coker and the Carolina Panthers to hammer out a new deal, but it was still perfect timing. The club extended their young wide receiver last week, with a three-year deal that will keep the former undrafted rookie in Charlotte through at least 2029.

For Coker, who admitted he kept the pending deal a secret from friends and family for weeks, having it done before the team breaks for the summer and returns for training camp allows him to focus on what's really important this offseason.

"I think that's kind of it, like just get it out of the way, just be able to play ball," expressed Coker on Tuesday while speaking with local media. "Not worried about any of that kind of stuff that takes me away from the field."

The extension was a manifestation of the belief Dave Canales, Dan Morgan, and staff have exhibited in Coker over the first two years. Despite working his way up from the bottom of the roster (something he did in a short time) and despite injuries shortening both his seasons thus far, the Panthers saw the difference he made when on the field.

At the end of the 2025 season, Canales identified Coker and rookie of the year Tetairoa McMillan as the two top receivers moving into the offseason. With a deal co-signing the assertion, Coker and McMillan — along with the rest of what has become a deep receiving corps — can prepare for the season with a lot fewer questions.

"I think just limiting it to us two is low, though. I think we've got so many guys that can play on this team, and it's just gonna continue to push us to be better every single day," began Coker, before continuing.

"But me and TMac in particular, I think we're both very similar skill set guys. He's a little better after the catch than me, but I mean, I think we're sure-handed, athletic, going to make a big play when it comes to us.

"So I think it's just going to be really, really fun to get a full season with him this year."

Of course, as mentioned, there have been injuries in back-to-back years: a hamstring in 2024 and a quad in 2025. Canales bragged last season, though, that Coker poured a ton of time and effort into eliminating those soft-tissue issues moving forward. And now knowing he'll be here long term, the third-year player is focusing his work on playing a full slate.

"Injuries and stuff, they're going to happen, but, you know, preventable things like that, I wanted to do my best to make sure I could limit all the possibilities of any soft tissue things coming up," explained Coker.

"It was a lot of ground beef, a lot of rice, salmon, just locking in diet-wise. It's not fun, but it has to happen," he joked.

"But that's the easy part, especially when — if you have the ability to go play, and doing that little stuff can get you to where you need to go, it's an easy commitment to make.

"It's a lot of extra treatment, a lot of mechanics, a lot of smaller things like that, I just try to continue to get better at. Nothing in particular that I'm really working on, just all preventative, more stuff like that."

His UDFA status allowed the club to negotiate an extension and new deal earlier than they could with drafted rookies, which will also set up Coker (who is currently 24 years old) to enter free agency in three years at a younger age than some of his counterparts. But the next deal is far from the receiver's mind.

He's focused on right now and how that focus can help build towards the future.

"It was a huge opportunity for me," Coker admitted. "Your dream is to always go get to the NFL, of course, but to stay around and to continue to contribute and to make an impact every Sunday, that's always been my goal.

"This wasn't the end of my story. This isn't where I want to be finished at. I just want to continue to build, continue to do good things for this organization down the line. Hopefully, I can stay for eight more years. I didn't want it to be like I finally made it, I can relax, I can take the foot off the gas a little bit. No, now I've got to prove it even more."