Reacts Results: Mid-june Grades For The Offseason

June in the NFL must be when commissioner Roger Goodell goes on vacation. The league’s fanatical aim to dominate headlines year round runs into a natural slump as we enter the furthest point of the year from either the NFL Draft or the opening kickoff. The news cycle has officially slowed until training camp starts next month and we start to hear leaks of how amazing the team looks in shorts, while competing against air. What that also means is that we have a pretty solid idea of what the Carolina Panthers are trying to build this year.

The draft class is signed. The schedule has been released. Very few impact free agents remain on the market—and the ones that are mostly are waiting to see how training camp injuries fall out before trying to sign with a contender. That leaves us talking amongst ourselves and judging what has happened against the standard of what we expect to come next this season.

These are the types of numbers that have, in recent memory, heralded a poor year for the Panthers. 96% of Panthers fans are generally positive about the offseason, while 71% are giving them top marks. I agree that Dan Morgan, Brandt Tilis, and Dave Canales have done well. I do get nervous when my famously contentious fellow fans are of a like mind.

Things feel different from the couple of times that everybody had hope together. The team is fresh off their first playoff appearance in a decade. The rest of the NFC South isn’t exactly inspiring fear with their offseason progress. Maybe Lucy won’t pull up the football before Bryce Young reaches it this time.

There are real reasons for hope. We’ll just have to wait and see the glowing reports about training camp before we know if any of that hope is going to translate into actual success in 2026.

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