Newly arrived Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd says he and his teammates have been talking about how excited they are about their potential for the 2026 season. And Lloyd also says talk at this time of year doesn’t mean much.
At Organized Team Activities on Tuesday, Lloyd said there’s palpable enthusiasm as the defense hits the practice field.
“Just the conversations with them, it’s just a lot of optimism and excitement,” Lloyd said, via Panthers.com. “I mean, we have so much talent on this defense and really the team, but specifically, for the defense, we’ve got so much talent. So yeah, it’s all been positive talk, but at the end of the day, talk is cheap; it’s about what we do at practice and how we continue to get better every day, and then ultimately what we do on game day. So today was a great start. I think we had a great practice, and it was a step in the right direction. We’ve got to just continue to build off today.”
Lloyd, who spent his entire four-year career with the Jaguars before signing with the Panthers this offseason, said he thinks he can do everything the Panthers’ defense asks of him.
“Anything you could ask a linebacker to do, I take pride in being able to do it at a high level,” Lloyd said. “In this game, they ask the linebackers — obviously we have a really, really stout D line — to make plays in the run game and then obviously in the pass game, that’s a big emphasis, for this defense. At the end of the day, football’s football. I wouldn’t even say scheme to scheme is anything different, but for me, it’s showing coach that, hey, I can do anything. I can blitz. I can cover whatever position you ask me to do. Put me in it, and I’ll make the play.”
