Good luck trying to sell Thomas Davis on a slow rebuild for his Carolina Panthers.
The former linebacker, along with fellow franchise great Jonathan Stewart, recently joined NFL network national reporter Cameron Wolfe for a chat from training camp at Bank of America Stadium. Wolfe asked Davis about the expectations for the Panthers, who finished at a league-worst 2-15 this past season.
“I think the expectation level should be very high for this football team,” he replied. “And for me, in particular, I’m excited to see the quarterback play. [Dave] Canales was with Geno Smith in Seattle, watching him, watching the maturation process. Then he goes to Tampa as the offensive coordinator. Watching what he was able to do with Baker Mayfield—a guy who we had right here. Didn’t see those same kind of abilities, and Baker became a Pro Bowl-type by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and got the big contract.”
Canales previously served as the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, when Smith broke out for a career campaign of 4,282 passing yards and 30 touchdowns along with a league-leading 69.8-percent completion rate. He was then hired as the offensive coordinator in Tampa, where he guided Mayfield to his bests in completion percentage (64.3), passing yards (4,044) and passing scores (28).
So Davis believes Canales can certainly work his magic on Carolina’s second-year quarterback Bryce Young.
“And now, he has the opportunity to work with a young kid in Bryce Young,” he added. “Just seein’ the maturation process from Year 1 to Year 2 under Dave’s tutelage, that’s one of the things that I’m really excited about. Because we know that Bryce Young, being the No. 1 overall pick a year ago, we know that this kid is talented. But it’s all about surrounding him with the right core of people.”
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