Comedy or controversy. Across the NFL, teams find themselves stirring the pot after releasing their 2025 schedules in hilarious fashion.
As it usually goes, the Carolina Panthers were at the brunt of the trash talk. In front of six Super Bowl trophies, the contentious Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports read the New England Patriots' schedule.
Dave Portnoy embarrasses Carolina Panthers with savage swipe
The Barstool Sports CEO, who goes by El Presidente, embarrassed the Panthers. He calls the Patriots’ Week 4 matchup with Carolina, “basically a Bye Week”.
"“Carolina Panthers - the most irrelevant franchise in football, nobody cares about them. They draft a quarterback, they bench a quarterback, he’s back. Panthers useless”"Dave Portnoy
Portnoy has a rocky relationship with the league. Most have grown used to his impassioned football opinions, but his latest riff comes a decade after he was arrested for protesting Tom Brady’s suspension at the league office. In combination with his other antics, he eventually received a ban from league events, which some still question as to whether or not this is still in place.
Separate from league policy, his recent remarks rattled the cage of Panthers' fans. The Patriots were one game worse than Carolina in 2024. New England made aggressive moves to turn the tide this offseason, which could bring them out of their current demoralized status.
The Panthers also made notable replenishments, but being outbid by the Patriots for Milton Williams does not help their case. They put their money where their mouth is. The Panthers’ front office walked away from a deal with the Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle when New England was willing to pay more.
Charlotte might never be the same sports market that Boston is. Along with salary-cap constraints, there are variables out of the Panthers' control. That's just the way it is and might always be.
However, the key to football relevance is winning. Third-year quarterback Bryce Young needs to start the season strongly before a brutal midseason stretch. This includes winning on the road in Foxborough and silencing the Patriots fans at the source.
The former Heisman Trophy winner had an impressive end-of-season stretch, but respect takes a while to be earned. Analysts are slowly coming around on the team's hopes, but it might take until after the 2025 season to escape the poor reputation that took seven consecutive losing campaigns to build.