South Charlotte Today

The Carolina Panthers have retained two key players from last season by placing a restricted free agent tender on center Cade Mays and an exclusive rights free agent tender on defensive end LaBryan Ray. Both players contributed significantly to the team's performance last year.

Cade Mays, initially drafted by the Panthers in 2022 as their sixth-round pick, returned to the team after a period with the New York Giants practice squad. He started the final eight games of the previous season, stepping in for injured Austin Corbett. During his time on the field, Mays helped drive an offensive resurgence. Over three years with the Panthers, he has played in 38 games and started 15. General manager Dan Morgan expressed his desire at the combine to retain both Mays and Corbett, who is currently an unrestricted free agent.

LaBryan Ray joined the Panthers following a training camp workout in 2023 and made nine starts last season. He recorded 41 tackles and one sack while playing through a broken hand toward the end of the season. Ray logged 627 snaps last year, ranking second among all defensive linemen on the roster behind veteran A'Shawn Robinson.

The NFL league year officially begins next Wednesday at 4 p.m., with free agents allowed to start negotiations with other teams starting at noon on Monday.