Derrick Brown Explains Why He Wanted to Remain a Carolina Panther

The Panthers star defensive lineman discusses his contract extension.

Last week, the Carolina Panthers took care of one of their own, locking up defensive tackle Derrick Brown through the 2028 season. The two sides agreed on a four-year, $96M, $63M of which is guaranteed money.

“We really love it here. The community has been great to us since the day we got here,” Brown told reporters on Wednesday. “Coming in the middle of COVID and not really knowing anybody besides the people that live in my neighorhood, that was a challenge but it’s been awesome in the long run and we’ve just kind of found home here.”

If you want any chance of competing for a division title and then some, you have to be stout up front in the trenches…on both sides. 

Over the past two seasons, Brown has elevated his game and has become one of the most productive interior players the league has to offer. In his first season in Ejiro Evero’s scheme, Brown set an NFL record for most tackles by a defensive tackle in a single season with 103.  

“Getting Coach (Evero) back was a huge thing for me. Also, having Todd Wash back as our d-line coach… this is the first time I’ve had the same d-line coach two years in a row, so just being able to have familiarity around the building and be able to stay in this system, know this system, that’s awesome.”

In 2022, Brown and the rest of the Panthers’ defensive line played for three coaches. Paul Pasqualoni was dismissed by interim head coach Steve Wilks upon taking over the team, and then a couple of weeks later Terrance Knighton - who took over the d-line - left to follow Matt Rhule to Nebraska. 

Just imagine what Brown can do by simply having the opportunity to play in the same scheme and hear the same voices for the first time since he arrived in 2020.