Carolina Panthers enter 2025 NFL offseason with more questions than answers

After finishing with the worst record in the league in 2023, the team took some steps forward in ’24.

Dec 22, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales talks with quarterback Bryce Young (9) during a time out during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles prepare to clash in Super Bowl LIX, the Carolina Panthers are once again getting an early start when it comes to plans for the following season. That’s what happens when the team is in the midst of a postseason drought that dates back to 2018.

Some cold hard reality. There’s been no winning season since Carolina’s last playoff appearance in 2017. There’s been no NFC South title since Carolina’s 15-1 Super Bowl campaign in 2015. That also marks the last time the club won a playoff contest, a 49-15 humbling of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game.

Of course, there’s also this hard-to-believe stat in regards to a team that will begin its fourth decade of play in 2025. The Panthers have still not put together back-to-back winning campaigns, despite the fact that Ron Rivera’s squad won three consecutive division titles from 2013-15 (Carolina finished 7-8-1 in ’14)

Still, there is at least one bit of optimism surrounding the team. Just when it appeared that 2023 first-overall pick Bryce Young was about to be labeled a bust, his early-season benching by head coach Dave Canales seemed to strike a spark. He started Carolina’s last 10 games, throwing at least one TD pass in each contest, and finishing with more than twice as many aerial scores (15) as interceptions. He also ran for 223 yards and six touchdowns, and Canales’s club won four of those contests.

Then again, there’s that matter of a team that allowed an NFL-record 534 points in a single season. The Panthers’ defensive unit gave up 59 touchdowns, including a league-high 35 through the air. There’s that substandard pass rush, which tied for the third-fewest sacks (32) in the NFL. There’s also the possibility that the club could lose safety Xavier Woods to free agency—the team’s top tackler (119) and interception leader (3) in 2024.

Still, there’s no disguising the fact that this is an organization that has lost 10 or more games in six consecutive seasons, and finished 5-12 this past season. That means the Panthers own the eighth overall pick in April’s draft, and certainly have plenty of needs. And plenty of questions.

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