Carolina Panthers SuperStar KeyPlayer Get Hit Hard Pool After Signing For $96 Million On The Ground Of…

After signing a $96 million contract extension with the Carolina Panthers, former Auburn standout Derrick Brown indicated some of that money is spent.

“I think we’re getting a pool in the backyard,” Brown said on Wednesday. “I think we decided that, so I think that’s what’s going to be bought next.”

Brown said “we” in a particular way that seemed to indicate he was just along for the ride, at least until the check needs to be signed.

After the defensive tackle signed a four-year, $96 million deal that included a $25 million signing bonus and $59.315 million in guaranteed money, the Panthers are expecting Brown to be a driving force in their defense.

After an All-American season at Auburn, Brown joined Carolina as the seventh selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he’s an oddity for the Panthers. The players – Brian Burns, D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey — picked by Carolina in the first round over the three drafts before they took Brown were traded by the Panthers, and 2016 first-rounder Vernon Butler left in free agency.

But Carolina ensured Brown would be back for the 2024 season by exercising their option for a fifth year on his rookie contract last offseason, then superseded that with a long-term contract extension.

“It happened,” Brown said of his missing teammates. “It is what it is at this point. But I’m excited to hold my place here and just keep working.”

Brown recorded 103 tackles in 17 games last season – 11 more tackles than any other NFL defensive lineman had in 2023. Since tackles became an official statistic in 2001, Brown had five more than any other defensive tackle had recorded in one season.

Brown also had two sacks, seven tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, one interception and five pass break-ups during his fourth NFL season.

Brown piled up his stats while playing 940 defensive snaps, the third-most among the league’s defensive linemen in 2023.

In his four NFL seasons, Brown has eight sacks, but he said he won’t change his game to chase the flashy stat.

“I think it just really depends on how the games go,” Brown said about sacks. “It’s one of those things where you only get so many opportunities. It’s a focus of mine 100 percent. Being a dominant player and being able to wreck games is a focus of mine.

“But going into the season, I’m not going to abort the defense in order to try and go and get mine. I’m just going to play within the system.”

The system will be the same for Brown in 2024 after new Carolina coach Dave Canales retained defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.

“Getting Coach E back was a huge thing for me,” Brown said. “Also having Todd Wash back as our D-line coach – this is the first time in my career I’ve had the same D-line coach two years in a row. Just being able to have familiarity around the building and to just be able to stay in the system and know the system and to keep going within the system, I think that’s been awesome.”

Canales joined the Panthers after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFC South rival of Carolina’s.

“Coach Canales is a great guy,” Brown said. “Even from the Monday when we got back in and we started back up, he set the goal for us moving forward. It’s just let’s get back to the basics and let’s just play ball. And let’s do it that way, and let’s do it the right way.”

The Panthers started their offseason program on Monday as they get to work on improving their 2-15 record in 2023.

“I think everybody’s excitement is the same,” Brown said. “We got in here, guys got right to it. We got in here Monday morning, had a meeting with coach, and then straight to lifts, straight to meetings and we got right back in the flow of things, which is great.”

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Panthers executive admits the daunting challenge facing the team heading into 2024 NFL Draft…

The stakes are high for the Carolina Panthers.

Team owner David Tepper hasn’t always been one to sit idly by. And it is no secret that he wants to see improvement in 2024 with second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

That pressure is on because one Panthers executive got candid with ESPN’s Matt Miller about what is at stake heading into the 2024 NFL Draft.

“If we want to keep our jobs, we’ll get him some help,” a Panthers talent evaluator said to Miller.

Realistically, the Panthers having another massive shake-up wouldn’t happen during the 2024 season.

Dave Canales, the new-look head coach, was hired shortly before NFL free agency. The same happened with new general manager Dan Morgan.

Though Frank Reich was short-lived in Charlotte, the Panthers seem to have loved the moves made in free agency.

The Panthers spent $256.7 million in free agency. The big bucks landed the Panthers 15 players. Contracts for guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis set the table for the franchise.

Carolina inked Hunt to a five-year, $100 million deal. That was followed up by a four-year, $53 million contract for Lewis.

The object of the Panthers’ improvement up front was to keep Bryce Young from being sacked repeatedly – something that happened frequently during his rookie season.

Then there was the trade for Diontae Johnson, a receiver who led the NFL in getting open in 2022, according to ESPN’s tracking metrics.

In the draft, the Panthers will have more opportunities to add talented wide receivers like Xavier Legette out of the University of South Carolina.

Still, what rings true is that the Panthers executives feel the pressure on them to find talent to complement Young’s abilities. If they don’t, they could find themselves on the outside looking in.

“He needs to understand that voicing his opinion is important,” Newton said. “You have to. Every offensive coordinator asks their quarterback this question: Game on the line, 3rd-and-four, 3rd-and-eight, got to have it situation, who would you prefer to throw the football to? He needs to have those answers for that. Bryce needs to be open to doing that.”

Giving his opinion clearly wasn’t Young’s strong suit during his rookie season.