The Carolina Panthers enter Week 17 in a position few anticipated, sitting at 8–7 and atop the NFC South with a pivotal home matchup against one of the league’s most complete rosters in the 12–3 Seattle Seahawks.
For Carolina, the game will be decided less by offensive fireworks and more by discipline, physicality, and defensive execution. And for head coach Dave Caneles, at the center of it all stands Christian Rozeboom, a violent and versatile second-level defender who has been a revelation at the linebacker spot.
An undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State during the COVID-impacted 2020 draft cycle, Rozeboom's early professional years were spent largely on the periphery.