Panthers fans have reason to feel better about the direction of the franchise, but the trust gap is still real.
A survey of Carolina supporters closed before the Hall of Fame game kicked off last Thursday, so it captured the mood before the Panthers became the first undefeated team of 2026. Even so, the results show that two thirds of fans are confident the team is moving the right way.
That makes sense on paper. Carolina is coming off its first division title and first playoff berth in a decade, and the roster looks far more stable than it did during the lean years. The Panthers are bringing back most of their starters from last season, and they’ve also made a few offseason additions that should help push things forward, including the signings of Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd, along with the drafting of Monroe Freeling.
Still, a third of the fan base remains unconvinced, and the reasons aren’t hard to find.
The last decade has worn people down. The Matt Rhule and Frank Reich eras never gave fans much steady ground to stand on, and the first two years of Bryce Young’s career were inconsistent at best and, at times, just plain bad. For a lot of Panthers fans, that kind of stretch creates a simple rule: show me first.
And some may need more than one good season. A winning year is one thing; proving it can happen again is another.
As the source put it, “I don’t think winning the NFC South with a losing record counts as a first good season. I love it, but it doesn’t count.”
Young’s play is at the center of all of it. After uneven production across his first two to three seasons, he’s now working with what may be one of the most talented offenses Carolina has ever put together.
The supporting cast is there at quarterback, running back, and receiver. The excuses are gone.
He has two years left on his contract to earn the organization’s confidence. Fans, though, aren’t nearly as patient.
From their perspective, the opener against the Chicago Bears is the biggest game of Young’s career. If he plays well and Carolina wins, the mood around the team could shift fast.
If he struggles and the Panthers lose, winning back some of that trust could become a much tougher job.
In Other News...
Former Panthers Center Cade Mays Hit With Another Tough Setback
Cade Mays first season in Detroit has hit a rough patch, with the former Panthers center now dealing with a wrist injury after signing a three-year contract with the Lions this offseason. The setback is another difficult turn for a lineman who has been trying to carve out a bigger role after stops with Carolina and the Giants, and it immediately puts his availability in question for a good stretch of the season.
Dan Campbell said Mays will miss a significant amount of time, and the injury is serious enough to sideline him for about eight to 10 weeks. There is still a path back later this season, but not anytime soon, which leaves the Lions to shuffle their center depth while Mays works through another frustrating interruption in what was supposed to be a fresh start. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Got Caught Up In Panthers Camp Tension
Training camp was bound to get a little chippy eventually, and it did on Aug. 10 when Bryce Young found himself in the middle of a physical altercation after a play in which safety Lathan Ransom went after running back Jonathon Brooks. The exchange pulled in cornerback Mike Jackson and an offensive lineman, turning one snap into the kind of sideline dust-up that tends to grab attention even when it barely registers as more than camp heat.
Nick Scott brushed it off as the sort of physicality that comes with a competitive practice, and head coach Dave Canales offered the same broad view of the day, calling it physical and competitive without getting into the specific play that set things off. For the Panthers, the bigger takeaway is less about a scuffle than the tone around it, with camp intensity already showing up early as players push through a practice setting where tempers can rise as quickly as pads start popping. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Is Giving Panthers Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Bryce Young has made training camp and the early preseason feel a little different around the Panthers, mostly because he looks more comfortable and more decisive than he did a year ago. The improvement has shown up in the way he is carrying himself and in how the team views him, with Carolina treating him as a quarterback on the rise even though his game snaps have still been limited.
The next chance to see more of that progress comes in Buffalo, where Young is expected to get a larger workload in the preseason game. For a Panthers team still sorting out its long-term picture under center, every additional rep matters, especially with no second contract talk yet and more time still needed before the front office has to make any major calls. [Read more 🡒]