The crowd of over 70,000 at Bank of America Stadium witnessed the start of the Sam Darnold era. However, it was the Panthers defense who stole the show, forcing six sacks and an interception on Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson. Darnold finished the day with 279 yards and a touchdown.Â
WFNZ's Nick Wilson recaps the Buccaneers vs. Cowboys game from Thursday Night Football and looks ahead to the weekend's slate of NFL games. The Panthers welcome the N.Y. Jets into Bank of America Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m./WBT).
"Today is a day of mixed emotions," Olsen wrote on Instagram. "A day we have prayed for has arrived. We were alerted last night that there was a donor match for T.J. to receive his heart transplant. "Walking our little boy, with tears of hope and fear in our eyes, was one of the toughest moments of our lives. We ask for everyone's prayers for T.J. and his amazing team of doctors and nurses."
TJ was born with a rare congenital heart condition known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A birth defect that affects normal blood flow due to the heart not forming correctly. Most infants with the condition die within the first two weeks of life, with an average age at death of 4.5 days.Â
The Carolina Panthers open the regular season at home on Sept. 12 against the New York Jets. A week one feature with Sam Darnold facing his former team. All before welcoming the New Orleans Saints into Bank of America Stadium the following week for their first NFC South conference match-up
The Carolina Panthers went into this year's NFL Draft needing to address a lack of depth at four key positions. One of those came immediately in the first round with the others coming in days two and three. Here's a brief overview of the picks made by GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule.
The former Gamecock is a very confident player with a brash demeanor he exhibits through his work on the field. He shows great competitive toughness in his willingness to match up against anyone and will often chirp in between plays. He finished his collegiate career with 101 tackles, 23 pass deflections and two interceptions in 30 games.
Bridgewater signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the Panthers before last season, but renegotiated the final two years of his deal. Carolina will save a total of $32 million in cap space over the next two years. The Panthers will pay $7 million to Bridgewater and the Broncos will pick up $3 million of his salary.
TSE vice president and chief operations officer Mark Hart cited the demand for a change and said it would be a "heavy lift'' to have continued with natural grass, which the stadium has used since the Panthers played their first game there in 1996, according to ESPN.Â
The Panthers (5-11) are one of the teams in the market to add depth at the quarterback position. Teddy Bridgewater future with the team is in doubt after last season, along with changes in the front office with Scott Fitterer stepping in at the new general manager earlier this month.
