CHARLOTTE, N.C. – PJ Walker stood alone in front of his locker on Sunday, the game ball in one hand and a cell phone in the other, while a crowd of reporters gathered around Carolina Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson a few feet away.
As the 5-foot-11 quarterback slid a shirt over his head, yet another text dinged congratulating him on his perforamce in the 21-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
None of the countless messages at that point were from recently fired coach Matt Rhule, who in 2020 brought to Carolina the former XFL star who helped him turn around the program at Temple University.