We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2024 season.
We’re officially 58 days away from the Carolina Panthers kicking off the 2024 NFL season against the New Orleans Saints. It will be their second consecutive road opener. Now it’s time for our annual roster countdown to highlight the players on the Panthers’ roster. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the best player to ever wear the No. 58 jersey — linebacker Thomas Davis. That’s two days in a row of unofficially retired numbers for linebackers.
Davis entered the NFL as the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He was seen as a highly talented, athletic, and high motor player whose size put him somewhere between being a safety and a linebacker—both positions that he excelled at with the University of Georgia Bulldogs.
Over a 16 year career, Davis played in 199 games with the Panthers (2005-2018), the Los Angeles Chargers (2019), and the Washington Commanders (2020). He started 158 of his 176 games for the Panthers, recording 13 interceptions, 55 passes defensed, 18 forced fumbles, 28 sacks, and 1098 tackles.
Davis’ impact for the Panthers was as much as intangible as it was statistical. His leadership shined throughout his career and often in the face of injury. He missed 40 games from 2009 to 2011 with three consecutive ACL tears. He returned to play another eight seasons where he missed a combined five regular season games due to injury and famously played in Super Bowl L with a cast over his broken arm.
After his historic run of knee injuries, Davis returned to win the AP Comeback Player of the Year award (2013), three Pro Bowl selections (2015-2017), and an AP First Team Pro selection (2015).
Davis is a titan of Panthers history who played at an absurdly high level for an absurdly long time. Ask ten Panthers fans and I’m confident you’ll get ten different answers to the question “what is your favorite Thomas Davis memory?” Scroll on down to the comments and share yours with us!