Devin Lloyd’s move to Carolina has come with a new contract, a new number and a new job description, but the Panthers believe they’re getting the same player they watched up close this month: a steady presence who can command a defense and set the tone in the room.
After leaving the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lloyd signed a three-year, $45 million deal with Carolina and slid into the middle of Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 scheme as an inside linebacker. He also inherited the green dot helmet, making him the Panthers’ defensive signal-caller and the player who relays the calls from the sideline into the huddle.
That trust has been obvious to Carolina coach Dave Canales.
"He's a dream to have," said Carolina coach Dave Canales on Aug. 19 after a joint practice between the Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lloyd's team from 2022-2025. "He's professional.
He's a great human. He plays with his hair on fire sideline to sideline and when he steps into the huddle and says the call, there's a confidence that comes with it that this is going to work.
And the guys rally around that."
Bryce Young has seen the same thing from the quarterback’s side.
"He's been huge," said Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. "He's a very vocal guy for us, does a great job around the defense.
And all of us have a ton of respect for him the way that he carries himself. In this short turnaround, he's become a leader for us."
For Lloyd, the change has felt natural. He said playing in the middle lines up with what he did at Utah, before the Jaguars moved him to weak side linebacker early in his NFL career. In Carolina, he’s back in a spot that lets him cover ground from sideline to sideline and operate with more freedom.
"Just being in this position in the middle … it's what I played in college [Utah]. When I got to the league is when they [Jaguars former defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell] moved me to weak side linebacker. It gives me more of an opportunity to just go sideline to sideline."
He also said the green dot is another adjustment he’s welcomed.
"Going to Coach E's defense, not wearing a green dot to wearing a green dot … Coach E is definitely trying to put me in the best position," Lloyd said. "He knows my abilities.
So I'd say from a defensive coordinator's perspective, it's just, 'hey … let's get this guy going downhill when we get favorable matchups. And obviously, let's get him in coverage so he can make plays with his eyes on the quarterback.'"
The Panthers are betting that version of Lloyd is the one they’ll get after he hit the open market and came off a 2025 season in Jacksonville that turned into his best one yet. Under Anthony Campanile, he posted five interceptions, seven pass break-ups and 81 tackles after some uneven early seasons, especially in coverage.
Lloyd made it clear he appreciated the help he got from the Jaguars’ coaching staff, too.
"I had great coaches last year, and they definitely helped me," Lloyd told the media in Charlotte after he signed. "I'll say I give the most credit to them."
The split from Jacksonville, by all accounts, was smooth. Lloyd spoke warmly about his old team and sounded genuinely happy to see familiar faces again when Carolina and Jacksonville met for joint work on Aug.
- Seven months after his last game in teal and black, the return brought back plenty of memories.
"Obviously driving in and seeing the stadium and coming into the locker room … coming on the field is just nostalgic," he said. "And then seeing all these familiar faces, all my guys, it was really cool. Let's just say it was fun going against them."
He even had a funny moment when he walked out of the bathroom at the Miller Center and ran into the Jaguars defense.
"It was crazy," he said.
The bigger reunion came after practice, when Lloyd and his former teammates gathered and traded laughs. He said there could be another get-together before the preseason game, and hinted food will be involved.
"We have some free time," he said. "I'm going to link up with some of the guys. But we're going to order some food or have a chef make it."
Carolina’s second preseason game comes Aug. 21 at EverBank Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on CBS-47, though Lloyd may not see many snaps. The regular season is still 24 days away, so the Panthers are still waiting to see how much of that Jaguars version of Lloyd shows up in live action.
What they do know is that he fits the locker room. Canales and Young have already said as much, and Lloyd seems to feel the same way.
"Just a group of great guys," he said. "It's so much fun being in the locker room.
Those guys are just hilarious. I'm blessed to be a part of the locker room."
That sounds familiar, too.
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