Panthers News: Thomas Davis, Jeremy Chinn, Bryce Young and LB group
By Dean Jones
Former players preaching Carolina Panthers standards
One thing that became prevalent throughout early offseason workouts was the presence of many former Carolina Panthers players on the sidelines and in some cases, coaching on the field. This wouldn't have been tolerated by the egotistical previous regime and is a refreshing change of pace.
Frank Reich knows how important past greats are to the fans and the franchise. The likes of Steve Smith Sr., Luke Kuechly, Jake Delhomme, and Ricky Proehl have been around the facility in recent weeks, with Thomas Davis Sr. also getting the chance to run the rule over Carolina's next generation.
Davis was asked by Rech to speak to the players after their final mandatory minicamp practice on the importance of keeping the standards high and not letting good work slip heading into camp. Something he stated via Darin Gantt from the team's website should hold a lot of weight.
"Like, I feel like as a player, I gave everything that I had to the game. And I can take solace in knowing that I can stand in front of a group of men and share my thoughts or my opinion and not have to question if it's coming from a genuine place. I definitely feel like guys are going to embrace that. And coach [Frank Reich] understands. He's a former player here. So he knows what the history is like. He knows what it's like to bring former guys back to be around the younger generation."
- Thomas Davis Sr. via Panthers.com
Looking forward to the future while acknowledging the past was the hallmark of Panthers football before a certain individual took charge and began running things like a college program. Thankfully, these traditions are being restored and hopefully, can give the players something a little different to think about.