Tommy Tremble has watched the Panthers through the rough years, so when he talks about where this team is headed, it carries some weight.
Carolina has been grinding its way forward since finishing with the league’s worst record in 2023. Dan Morgan, promoted to director of football operations/general manager in 2024, has spent the time since building up a roster that badly needed help. The Panthers also brought in Dave Canales, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, to take over as head coach.
The results have come in steady steps. Canales’ first season ended at 5-12, a three-win jump from the 2-15 mess of 2023. Then this past season, Carolina added three more wins and finished 8-9, good enough to reach the playoffs as NFC South champion despite still ending below .500 for the eighth straight year.
For Tremble, that progression is enough to make a bold statement about what’s coming next.
“This will be the best team I’ve been a part of here,” said Tremble last month via Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. He also had plenty to say about Bryce Young.
“Bryce (Young) is playing on a different level,” added Tremble (via Fowler). “I’m excited to see him.
He’s gonna ball out. And it’s gonna get him paid.”
That kind of confidence matters coming from one of Carolina’s most established players. Tremble has been with the organization since 2021, when the Panthers drafted the former Notre Dame tight end in the third round.
He entered the league under Matt Rhule and has now played in 78 regular-season games, piling up 112 catches for 1,031 yards and 11 touchdowns. In January’s home playoff loss to the Rams, he added three receptions for 22 yards.
With training camp two weeks away - rookies report July 21 and veterans July 22 - Tremble’s view offers a clear snapshot of where the Panthers believe they are. He’s seen the bad.
Now he’s seeing something better. Carolina’s eight wins were its most since the franchise’s last winning season in 2017, when the Panthers went 11-5 and reached the playoffs as a wild card team.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Debate Just Took Another Turn For Panthers Fans
Bryce Youngs future in Carolina has been one of the leagues most debated quarterback topics, and the conversation got another push this week when former Panthers general manager Marty Hurney voiced confidence in the former No. 1 pick. Youngs record as a starter has left plenty of room for skepticism, but he has also piled up more than 8,000 passing yards and 49 touchdowns since arriving in Carolina, enough production to keep the argument alive about what he can become with the right support around him.
Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik added to that optimism by pointing to Youngs competitiveness and his ability to deliver in critical moments. Even with the questions that still follow him, Youngs first appearance on the NFLs Top 100 list at No. 98 suggests the league is starting to take notice of his progress. The bigger issue now is whether Carolina sees enough consistency to make a longer-term commitment, or whether this remains a wait-and-see situation heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Got Linked To A Bryce Young Backup Plan
Bryce Youngs uneven start has kept the Panthers in the conversation any time quarterback speculation comes up, and the latest round of chatter points to Carolina once again being linked to a possible backup plan. The idea is not hard to understand: the franchise still needs to sort out what it has at the position, and any hint of another young quarterback with upside is going to draw attention.
One name being floated around the league is a former top pick whose tools still intrigue evaluators even though the results have been mixed. The appeal is obvious for a team that is still searching for stability under center, but the real question is whether Carolina would see enough value to make a move and try to unlock a different kind of talent than the one already in the room. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Is Giving Panthers Fans Real Hope For 2026
Bryce Youngs rise has given Carolina something it has not had in a while: real reason to look past the present and imagine a better 2026. Since returning to the starting lineup in the middle of the 2024 season, Young has trended upward, and the Panthers have ridden that improvement all the way to their first playoff appearance since 2017 and their first NFC South title since 2015.
The optimism is easy to understand, because Young looks like a quarterback whose best football may still be ahead of him. Still, the next step is about more than flashes, and the questions around consistency have not disappeared, especially with his limited history of big-yardage outings. If he keeps building on this stretch, Carolinas outlook gets a lot more interesting. [Read more 🡒]