Back in 2015, the other 24, Josh Norman, was released. Many Panthers fans had heart attacks. After going 15-1 in the regular season and reaching a Super Bowl, giving up a number one cover man for nothing seemed to be criminal activity. Furthermore, within the NFC South, wideouts Julio Jones and Mike Evans were projected to become dominant threats in prolific offenses. How could the Panthers deal with the opposing offenses in the NFC South?
At first, they couldn’t.
In a forgettable 2016 season, the Panthers fell twice to the Atlanta Falcons.