While we don’t yet know when the matchup will take place, the Panthers are slated to take on the Jaguars in 2025.
Barring any transactions, that will set up a matchup between two brothers at running back: Travis and Trevor Etienne.
Travis, 26, has been in the league for years after playing his college ball at Clemson. But Trevor, 20, elected to go a different way, beginning his collegiate career at Florida before transferring to Georgia for 2024.
Trevor’s performance landed him with the Panthers as a fourth-round pick.
In a recent interview, Trevor noted that “words can’t explain” how much his brother has impacted him.
“He always told me don’t try to leave a legacy, live a legacy,” Trevor said, via Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer. “And that’s something he’s told me in high school, and I carry it through life. What I’ve learned from him is how much you have to become a pro — how much you have to lock in and become a student of the game, and just take care of your body. I learned so much.”
Now that they’re both in the league, Travis said the opportunity to face one another’s team is something he and his brother have dreamed of.
“[B]ut until it comes to fruition, you can’t really understand it,” Travis said, via Zietlow. “For my parents, it’s going to be very exciting. I think it’s going to be a moment filled with love and joy, for real.
“Us being together, from so young to now, and knowing that we’ve dreamed of these things and it’s actually happening — I feel like that’s a moment we’re just going to take in and enjoy because this doesn’t happen often.”
But most importantly, Travis wants bragging rights.
"[I]’ll try to go out there and kick his ass, win the game,” Travis joked.
Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen is in the final year of his contract and it may also be the last year that he plays football.
Thielen is entering his 12th NFL season and he’ll turn 35 before the Panthers play their first game of the year, so it’s not surprising to hear that he said on Friday that he’s “definitely winding down my career.” He said he won’t be making any decisions at this point, but acknowledged that he may decide to hang up the cleats once the year comes to an end.
“It could be, yeah,” Thielen said, via Joe Person of TheAthletic.com. “I told you guys at the end of the season, like every year, you look back and you say what left do I have to give to this game? I talked to my family, and they wanted me to keep playing. So it’ll be the same process. I’m not gonna think about that right now.”
Thielen said he’s “excited about this year and what could happen” for a Panthers team that ended the 2024 season on an upswing. That could lead to Thielen going out on a high note come the start of 2026.
The list of lawsuits recently filed against former NFL players continues to grow.
Former Panthers and Ravens receiver Steve Smith Sr. has been sued in North Carolina under a “homewrecker” law.
As explained by Julia Coin of the Charlotte Observer, Smith is accused of having an extended affair with a member of the Baltimore Ravens marching band.
In the civil complaint filed on Tuesday, Antonio Martinez seeks at least $100,000 for Smith’s alleged interference in Martinez’s marriage.
The situation became public in February, when Martinez posted images of messages allegedly exchanged between Smith and Martinez’s wife. In the lawsuit, Martinez alleged that he called Smith to confront him on the matter.
“You’ve been f—king my wife, bro,” Martinez said, per the lawsuit.
“I’m sorry,” Smith allegedly replied.
The lawsuit contains claims for alienation of affection, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
Smith spent 16 years in the NFL. After 13 with the Panthers, he spent his final three in Baltimore. He currently works for NFL Network.
The Panthers have picked up the fifth-year option on left tackle Ikem Ekwonu’s contract. He is expected to get a long-term deal, something the Panthers did for defensive lineman Derrick Brown and cornerback Jaycee Horn in the same situation.
The only question is: When?
“I have no timeline, honestly,” Ekwonu said Thursday, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “I’ll let my agent and Dan and everybody kind of figure that out for themselves.
“But I mean, obviously, all parties know, all parties involved know I want to be here in Carolina long term. Hopefully, we can get that done. I’m definitely grateful and excited for this option.”
The Panthers used the sixth overall pick in 2022 on Ekwonu, who has started 49 of a possible 51 games in his career after missing two games with an ankle injury in 2024. Ekwonu does not turn 25 until the end of October.
Ekwonu was born in Charlotte and went to North Carolina State, so he is home and wants to keep it that way.
“I want to be here,” Ekwonu said. “I want to be part of the glory days in Carolina, and I feel like we’re right there on the precipice of it.”
Everyone wants to know what happened to Hunter Renfrow. He went from the Pro Bowl in 2021 to an afterthought in 2022 and 2023 to out of the league in 2024.
Renfrow ow is attempting a comeback with the Panthers.
“It’s just trying to get back, trying to get healthy, trying to do something I love,” Renfrow told Darin Gantt of the team website when asked about a year out of the game. “I enjoyed other parts of life. We had our second daughter, so enjoying that and just wanting to make sure if I’m going to come back and give my time and attention to something that I was going to be all in on it.”
Renfrow, 29, revealed that he has dealt with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, which left him with weight loss, fatigue and high fever. It’s a reason he did not play last season.
Instead, Renfrow spent a year consulting with doctors and getting the condition under control.
“It kicked my butt pretty good,” Renfrow said. “Last year, I fluctuated in weight. I went down to 150 pounds. I had like seven straight days of 103-degree fevers. It’s tough to play when you’re not feeling great.”
He now weighs 187 with a goal of a playing weight of 185.
“It’s a weird feeling. It makes you grateful for the times that you do feel good,” Renfrow said. “It makes you grateful for the opportunities that you’ve had, and when you feel like you’ve been blessed with some skill to go out there and perform, it makes you not want to waste the opportunity that you have. And that was one of the reasons why I wanted to come back and play.”
In five seasons, Renfrow has 269 receptions for 2,884 yards and 17 touchdowns.
