Carolina Panthers’ 2024 Opener:
An Ugly Defeat, A Nightmare Injury

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

Heading into their 2024 season opener on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers had attracted the lowest expectations of any team in the National Football League.

In the aftermath of the Panthers’ ugly loss at New Orleans, there were plenty of reasons to feel even worse about the team, which already has had six consecutive losing seasons — including the infamous 2-15 debacle of 2023 — since David Tepper purchased the franchise from its founder, Jerry Richardson, in May 2018.

Only two NFL teams lost by more than 17 points in Week One. The New York Giants fell 28-6 at home to Minnesota, and the Panthers were annihilated 47-10 by the Saints.

Nobody gave up more points than Carolina in Week One, and only the Giants scored fewer points. It was the most lopsided season-opening loss in the Panthers’ 30-year history and their fourth-largest margin of defeat overall.

It can’t get much worse than that, can it?

As it turned out, yes, it can. Carolina announced Monday that it has lost its best player, Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown, to a knee injury. On Tuesday, the Panthers confirmed Brown will be lost for the remainder of the season.

Brown, the Panthers’ first-round draft pick (#7 overall) in 2020, has started 64 of the team’s 67 games over the last four-plus seasons. He even played 60 of the team’s 66 defensive snaps against New Orleans, plus eight more on special teams, and it’s unclear exactly when he suffered the injury.

First-year Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Monday that Brown would get a second opinion before moving forward with surgery to repair his torn meniscus.

“Definitely a huge loss,” Canales said. “He’s one of our best players. That’s big shoes to fill.”

Brown, 26, set the NFL’s all-time single-season record last year for tackles by a defensive tackle, with 103. The 6-foot-5, 320-pounder then signed a four-year, $96 million contract extension in the offseason, with more than $63 million guaranteed.

With Brown out indefinitely, Carolina’s options next to Shy Tuttle and A’Shawn Robinson on the three-man starting defensive line include Jayden Peevy (6-5, 308),  Nick Thurman (6-4, 305) and LaBryan Ray (6-4, 290).

Peevy has played only three NFL games. Thurman, who is listed as Tuttle’s backup (in more of a nose guard-type role) on the Carolina depth chart, has played only 26 NFL games, including all 17 last year as a Panthers reserve. Ray, whose only NFL experience (17 games, including one start) came with Carolina last season, was not on the team’s 53-man active roster for the New Orleans game.

“Go in with great technique and just do your job,” Canales said, when asked about Brown’s backups. “We don’t need you to make the special plays that Derrick makes. Just do your job. That’s the truth of it. If you play team football with a bunch of guys, you can have success.”