Panthers are set on having ‘no expectations,’ but that’s not Jadeveon Clowney’s style

The first interaction of the first day of his first training camp as a Carolina Panther painted a perfect picture of who Jadeveon Clowney is.

Reporter: “So it’s your first training camp in Charlotte—”

Clowney, shrugging and smiling: “First training camp in a long time.”

This simple flash of self-awareness and charm from Clowney — the 31-year-old pass rusher who signed a two-year deal with his hometown NFL franchise in March — is merely one of a litany of examples of Clowney’s candor already as a Panther. Tuesday, he was referencing specifically how he hasn’t participated in a training camp the past handful of preseasons as he’s bounced from one-year contract to one-year contract across the league, part of his trek as a guy who’s been rostered on six teams as he enters his 11th season.

So far, a shrugging candor seems to be Clowney’s style.

His M.O.

What else seems to be his M.O.?

He’s a winner — and he’s unafraid to say that he expects to win in Carolina now.

“I can just say this,” Clowney said Tuesday. “I’ve been on six teams, and I’ve never been on a loser, really, on all six teams. All of them have won, besides probably one. I’ve never went nowhere and just lost. And I don’t plan on coming in here and just losing.”

This doesn’t exactly align with what general manager Dan Morgan said a few minutes before him. Morgan, entering his first training camp as a GM this summer , preached a boilerplate patience, tempering hopes by using words like “long-term plan” and “no expectations,” and that he’s looking to upgrade at every spot on the roster.

When asked specifically about expectations, Morgan said:“We have a plan in place. We have a process. And we’re aligned in that plan. And we’re going to stick to it. And I feel like if we’re disciplined and we stick to that plan, we will build a winner.”

As for Clowney? The 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowler and former All-Pro pass rusher fresh off a career year in Baltimore?

That’s not what he’s thinking.

He’s thinking the team should — and could — win now.

“I’ve told them guys, it’s my sixth team: I know what it looks like, I know what it takes to win,” Clowney said. “It’s coming together every day in practice and preparing. We’re all here for a reason, we’re all professionals. And we all got what it takes to win in this organization.

“So I think that’s what it’s going to come down to. Everybody buying in and hearing it from guys who’ve been on other teams and telling them, ‘Man, we got what it takes.’ And show up everyday and come to work and let the chips fall where they may. But like I said, I’ve seen what it looks like. We got the tools. We just gotta prepare like it.”

Clowney’s confident style is a refreshing one. And it might be the mentality the team needs and says privately but won’t say publicly. The Panthers, after all, are coming off a league-worst 2-15 season that resulted in the firing of a head coach 11 games into his tenure and a reorganization of the front office.

That’s not where the carnage stopped, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. In free agency, the stalwart defense from a season ago — the bright spot in a largely overcast season — atrophied a bit: Frankie Luvu fled in free agency to the Commanders; safety Jeremy Chinn followed him to Washington; pass rusher Brian Burns was traded to the Giants; veteran corner Donte Jackson was traded, too.

In exchange, the team’s front office bulked up the offensive firepower for second-year quarterback Bryce Young and did what it could to patch up the holes that left the defense tattered. One pass rusher they brought in was D.J. Wonnum from Minnesota, who was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp . Another pass rusher the team will be relying on is Amare Barno, who will also start on the PUP list.

But the headlining guy they brought in to beef up the defense was Clowney, the smiley Rock Hill native who is a respected pass rusher and an underrated run-stopper and is healthy ... well...

“I’m a winner,” he added.

And he is.

Of the 10 seasons Clowney has played in the NFL, only three have yielded losing seasons. One was with the 4-12 Texans in 2017 — which they followed up with an 11-5 regular-season record the next year. The other two were his years in Cleveland, where the team went 8-9 in 2021 and 7-10 in 2022.

In 2023, last season, he helped anchor a defense on a team that came within a touchdown of defeating the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game .

So there’s a reason for confidence. There’s a reason why he’s unafraid to let his candor fly when talking about what he sees in Carolina, what he expects out of the Panthers — even if the organization isn’t ready to be so forward yet.

And for those who may doubt his belief of how good the defense — this team — can be? Clowney has something for them, too.

“I’ve been talked about my whole career,” Clowney said on Tuesday, smiling again. “What kind of pressure can you put on me now?”