As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoy one last extended break before training camp, we're taking a look at each team the Buccaneers are going to face during the 2025 season. From how those teams fared last year, to what they've done with the roster since, to some as-yet-unanswered questions – we want to get a better feel for what the Bucs will be up against this fall. Today's focus is on the Carolina Panthers, who are counting on continued improvement from young quarterback Bryce Young and a more stout defense after big moves in free agency.

2024 Results

The Panthers made a modest jump to 5-12 in Dave Canales' first season as head coach after finishing a league-worst 2-15 in 2023. There was reason for even more optimism, however, as four of those five wins came in the second half of the season and second-year quarterback Bryce Young similarly saw significant improvement in his game as the campaign progressed. Some of the losses were encouraging, as well, including a three-week stretch in which the Panthers fell by three points to the Chiefs and Buccaneers and by six points to the eventual-champion Eagles.

Carolina got off to a rough start, losing its first two games to the Saints and Chargers by a combined score of 73-13. Young, who had struggled as a rookie after being drafted with the first-overall pick, threw for just 245 yards in those games without a touchdown while being intercepted three times. That led to Canales benching his young starter in favor of veteran Andy Dalton and casting doubt on Young's future in Charlotte. The Panthers immediately won their next game at Las Vegas by a 36-22 score, with Dalton throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard also ran for 114 yards, the first of four 100-yard outings in his breakout campaign.

However, Carolina dropped its next four games, including a 40-7 drubbing at the hands of the Commanders in Week Seven in which Dalton was picked off twice and Washington backup quarterback Marcus Mariota threw a pair of touchdown passes. Two days later, Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a car crash, opening the door for Young to get another shot.

The Panthers lost Young's next start, 28-14, in Denver but Young threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns while also getting intercepted twice. However, Carolina then strung together consecutive wins against the Saints and Giants. Hubbard scored twice against New Orleans in a home game and then ran for 153 yards and another score against New York in Munich, Germany. The Panthers bye week followed and then the aforementioned three-game losing streak against Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. Young threw for 263 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs but Kansas City won the game on a walk-off field goal, 30-27. A week later the Bucs came to town and barely escaped with a 26-23 overtime win, needing a last-second field goal in the fourth quarter and an ill-timed fumble by Hubbard in overtime to pull it out.

After a 30-14 loss against the Cowboys in Week 15, the Panthers won two of their last three games, beginning with a 36-30 shootout against Arizona in which Hubbard had 152 yards and two more scores. Carolina didn't fare as well in its rematch with the Buccaneers in Tampa, as Baker Mayfield threw five touchdown passes and rookie back Bucky Irvin ran for 113 yards in a 48-14 drubbing. The season ended on a high note, as the Panthers went to Atlanta to face a Falcons team that was still in contention for the NFC South title and prevailed in a wild back-and-forth affair that was tied six different times before a Miles Sanders touchdown run in overtime capped a 44-38 decision. Young was sharp, throwing three touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Despite the obvious improvement, Carolina's offense still finished 29th in the NFL with 298.0 yards per game and 23rd with 20.1 points per game. Young threw for 171.6 yards per game but had a 15-9 TD-INT ratio and an 82.2 passer rating, up from his 73.7 mark as a rookie. No Panthers pass-catcher reached the 50-catch mark, with rookie Xavier Legette leading the team with 49 grabs for 497 yards and veteran Adam Thielen adding 48 for 615 in 10 games.

Hubbard was a bright spot for a rushing attack that finished 18th in the league. Despite missing the last two games, the fourth-year back ran for a career-best 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.8 per carry, and added 43 receptions. The Panthers rewarded him with a four-year contract extension in November.

Defense was a bigger problem for Carolina, which set a single-season NFL record by allowing 534 points. The Panthers' most pressing issue was an inability to stop the run, as opponents averaged 179.8 rushing yards per game and 5.16 yards per carry, both last in the league by a wide margin. The run defense suffered a serious blow very early in the season when Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown was lost to a knee injury in the first game of the year, landing on injured reserve.

Safety Xavier Woods led the Carolina defense with 119 tackles and also had a team-high three interceptions, accounting for a third of the team's overall number of picks. Defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson and outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney tied for the team high with 5.5 sacks each but the Panthers ranked 29th in sacks-per-pass play.

2025 Arrivals

In the 2025 offseason, the Panthers clearly focused on a defense that had experienced a talent drain in recent years and had sunk to the bottom of the league rankings. They had plenty of cap space to devote to the issue and used it to make additions on all three levels. On the first day of free agency the Panthers announced the additions of former Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig; defensive tackles Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown, formerly of the Chiefs and Rams respectively; outside linebacker Patrick Jones from the Vikings and off-ball linebacker Christian Rozeboom, also from the Rams.

Moehrig, Wharton and Brown all got three-year deals, with Moehrig landing the biggest deal at $51 million. The Panthers reportedly went hard after former Eagle Milton Williams, who signed the biggest deal of any player in free agency this year, getting four years and $104 million from the Patriots. After missing out on that target, the Panthers doubled down with Wharton and Brown, who got a combined $66 million on their three-year pacts. Jones landed a two-year deal and Rozeboom got a one-year contract.

All but Rozeboom are projected to be almost certain starters in the Carolina defense this year. Moehrig started 64 games over four seasons in Las Vegas and recorded nearly 300 tackles plus six interceptions. The 6-4, 332-pound Brown and the 6-1, 280-pound Wharton should slot in next to Brown and give the Panthers a much more stout front line. Jones had 7.0 sacks for Minnesota last year and helps address Carolina's previously anemic pass rush.

The defensive reconstruction efforts continued in the draft. Although the team used its first pick, number eight overall, on a receiver (more on that below), four of the next five went to defensive players. Continuing to restock the edge rush position, the Panthers used two picks in a row to get Texas A&M's Nic Scourton and Ole Miss's Princely Umanmielen. Whether or not either unseats D.J. Wonnum to start opposite Jones, they should immediately figure into the OLB rotation.

The fourth round brought Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom, who could push former undrafted free agent Demani Richardson for the starting job next to Moehrig. The Panthers then added more beef up front with Florida defensive tackle Cam Jackson in the fifth round. Also during the draft the Raiders waived second-year cornerback M.J. Devonshire and the Panthers claimed him off waivers. Devonshire was a seventh-round pick who didn't play in 2024 but five different teams put in a claim on him so he may have a chance to stick.

The Panthers' biggest addition on the offensive side of the ball came early in the draft. Despite their clear needs on defense, Carolina prioritized getting Young a potential number-one receiver and landed on Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan. McMillan has been compared to Mike Evans due to his size and contested-catch ability, and he's also dangerous after the catch. He should start alongside Legette on the outside, allowing Thielen to operate out of the slot. For further receiving depth, the Panthers also used a sixth-round pick on Colorado's Jimmy Horn Jr. and signed former Raider Hunter Renfrow, who did not play last season.

Though Hubbard is now the clear starter in Carolina's backfield, the Panthers add a complementary back in former Cowboy Rico Dowdle, who topped 1,000 rushing yards last season and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. In the draft, the Jaguars nabbed Florida and Georgia running back Trevor Etienne in the fourth round. Etienne averaged 5.0 yards per carry for the Bulldogs last year and also caught 32 passes. With a second fifth-round pick collected in their Diontae Johnson trade in 2024, the Panthers also added to the tight end room with Notre Dame's Mitchell Evans.

Carolina will also have a new kicker combination in 2015. The Panthers signed punter Sam Martin after he was cut by the Bills; he had a gross average of 46.7 yards per punt in 2024 and a net of 39.8. Carolina will hold a two-man competition in training camp for their placekicking job after signing journeyman Matthew Wright and picking up undrafted rookie Florida State kicker Ryan Fitzgerald as a free agent. The Panthers plan to make it tough on Wright and Fitzgerald, as they will use goal posts that are nine feet apart – roughly half the distance of normal NFL goal posts – during camp.

2025 Departures

The Panthers needed Moehrig after safeties Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller both left in free agency. Woods, who started 46 games for the Panthers over the last three seasons and had 119 tackles and three interceptions last year, left for a two-year deal in Tennessee. Fuller only spent one season in Carolina and missed time due to injury but did start the nine games in which he played; he signed with the Falcons.

Carolina also bid farewell to one of their longest-tenured players when linebacker Shaq Thompson's contract expired and they chose not to re-sign him. Thompson played 10 seasons for the Panthers but in his last two seasons he was limited to just six games. In addition, the team released two defenders who only spent one season in Charlotte in outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Dane Jackson. Clowney tied for the team lead with 5.5 sacks in 2024 and Jackson started all nine games in which he played while spending part of the season on injured reserve.

There were fewer changes on offense, but the Panthers did cut running back Miles Sanders, who had been a big-time free agent acquisition in 2023. Carolina signed Sanders after he had 1,269 rushing yards for the Eagles in 2022 but in two seasons in Charlotte he recorded just 637 yards. Tight end Ian Thomas also left in free agency, signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas. Thomas started 17 games in 2022 but only played in five games with two starts and three receptions last season.

As noted above, the Panthers will be rolling with a new kicking duo in 2025. That became necessary when the team re-signed neither punter Johnny Hekker nor kicker Eddy Pineiro. The former landed in Tennessee while the latter has yet to sign with another team.

Other Noteworthy Developments

Just before the start of free agency, the Panthers made a big move to retain one of their homegrown stars for the long term, signing cornerback Jaycee Horn to a four-year, $100 million deal that made him the highest-paid defensive back in the league. Horn struggled with injuries his first three seasons after being drafted eighth overall in 2021, but he started 15 games last year and made the Pro Bowl.

Carolina also retained a number of other players who could have departed in free agency, including cornerback Michael Jackson, who got a two-year, $10.5 commitment. Others who were re-signed, all on one-year contracts, included guard Brady Christensen, center Austin Corbett, wide receiver David Moore, tight end Tommy Tremble, running back Raheem Blackshear and safety Nick Scott. The Panthers also brought back Dalton on a new two-year deal.

The Panthers made some changes to their football staff, most notably hiring former Bills staffer Denny Kellington as their vice president of player health and performance. Kellington is best known for helping save the life of safety Damar Hamlin by performing CPR on the field after Hamlin collapsed in a game late in the 2022 season. On the coaching staff, Renaldo Hill was hired as secondary coach and AC Carter was brought on to tutor the outside linebackers; the two replaced Bert Watts and Tem Lukabu, respectively.

Pressing Questions

Can Bryce Young make an even bigger leap in Year Three after his encouraging improvement in the second half of last season?

The Panthers are understandably optimistic about their potential franchise quarterback after he looked like a completely different player following his benching and then return to the starting lineup. Still, Young finished 25th in the league among qualified players in passer rating (82.8), 26th in completion percentage (60.9%) and 20th in interception percentage (2.3%). There is still plenty of room for improvement for the former first-overall draft pick.

The Panthers tried to hasten Young's ascension by using a high pick on McMillan, one year after taking Legette 32nd overall. If those two can deliver on their draft pedigree quickly, Young will have a much more dynamic receiving corps than he enjoyed in either of his first two seasons. Young was particularly impressive on deep throws in the second half of 2024, so he and McMillan could prove to be an explosive combination.

Young was notably more confident and willing to make aggressive throws upon his return to the lineup last year than he was as a rookie or at the start of 2024. His head coach, Dave Canales, has a proven track record of getting the most out of his quarterbacks. A big step forward for Young in 2025 could put the Panthers in playoff contention.

Will the veteran additions in free agency fix the Panthers' run defense?

The Panthers certainly didn't ignore the fact that their run defense was historically bad in 2024. Even without landing Milton Williams they still significantly bolstered their defensive front with the signings of Brown and Wharton and the draftng of Cam Jackson. Elsewhere, the defense got new starters at outside linebacker in Jones and at safety in Moehrig.

It's never a certainty how a mass influx of free agents is going to work. The "Dream Team" that the Eagles amassed in 2011 will always be a cautionary tale, but the 2024 Washington Commanders fared well with a similar approach to reloading with veterans on defense. Carolina's free agency haul is actually a younger group than what the Commanders assembled, so the potential exists for more upside and an even better return on investment. The Panthers know that any improvement by Young and the offense will be rendered moot if the defense continues to give up 180 rushing yards and 30-plus points per game in 2025. They have made efforts to ensure that doesn't happen again.