Panthers GM Dan Morgan stresses patience, sticking with plan as key to ending 6-year playoff drought

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers new general manager Dan Morgan understands it’s not easy to dramatically change the trajectory of an NFL franchise following a 2-15 season.

It can take some time.

That’s why Morgan is preaching patience, even as the inherent pressure of a six-year playoff drought hangs over the organization.

“I’m not going to put any expectations on anything right now,” Morgan said Tuesday as veteran players reported for the start of training camp. “What I do know is there is a lot of work ahead of us, not only from a personnel standpoint but from the players. ... In terms of playoffs, we will reach that goal when we’re ready. But I think right now we are focused on today and tomorrow and getting better as a team.”

While it may not be what some playoff-starved fans want to hear, Morgan’s patient approach might be just what the organization needs.

Too often in recent years the Panthers, desperate to win immediately, have settled on short-term solutions, a nearsighted approach that has resulted in roster moves that have either handcuffed the team’s salary cap flexibility or mortgaged valuable draft picks.

In 2023, for instance, former general manager Scott Fitterer traded away four picks — including one that would become the No. 1 overall selection in the 2024 draft — and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears to move up eight spots to get quarterback Bryce Young at No. 1.

Young struggled as a rookie, limited to fewer than 180 yards passing per game with just 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Still, Morgan said he believes in Young, insisting that he has the tools to be a great NFL quarterback.

“I was in Buffalo with Josh Allen and I was in Seattle with Russell Wilson, and you saw the progression of those guys getting better not only every game, but every year,” Morgan said. “Bryce is a hard worker just like Josh is and Russell is, so hopefully we see that progression. I wouldn’t doubt it at all.”

Morgan spent the offseason putting players around Young, hoping to speed up that progression.

The Panthers invested more than $150 million in starting guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis after allowing 65 sacks last season. They struck a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Diontae Johnson and drafted Xavier Legette from South Carolina in the first round to bolster a receiving group that struggled to create separation. They also selected running back Jonathan Brooks in the second round and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders in the fourth.

“I’m super grateful for the receiving corps that we have,” Young said. “I’m super excited. We have a great group of guys, great competitors and we are on a mission to be as good as we can.”

Now it’s up to new, energetic young coach Dave Canales to begin developing those players, including Young. Canales had success working with quarterbacks Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay.

He brings an offensive system that encourages quarterbacks to get the ball out of their hands within 2.7 seconds.

That could be another big adjustment.

But Morgan, a former Panthers linebacker who once had 25 tackles in a Super Bowl, is willing to be patient. While he desperately wants to rebuild the Panthers into a winner, he’s committed to doing it his way.

“We have a plan in place. We have a process,” Morgan said. “We are aligned in that plan and we’re going to stick to it. I feel like if we’re disciplined and we stick to our plan on building this thing that we will build a winner eventually. I think we are pretty confident in that.”

Staying home

The Panthers are staying in Charlotte for training camp for only the second time ever. (The other was in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.) The team had spent every other summer at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, since beginning play in 1995.

Practices begin Wednesday.

Chilling out

One of the new additions to training camp this year will be a “cooling trailer” on the sideline during practice, where players can step out of the intense North Carolina heat to cool down. The trailer, which team officials said cost $300,000, is kept at 20 degrees and features benches where players can sit and rest.

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