CHARLOTTE — Now that it's July, we're officially in the ramp-up to training camp and the start of the 2025 season.

So now's a good time to catch up with the Panthers' opponents this year and see what they've done this offseason to impact this year's matchup.

We'll go through these in order, so stay tuned for our breakdowns of the whole schedule.

OPPONENT: Seattle Seahawks

When: Week 17 in Charlotte (TBD).

All-time series: Seahawks lead 9-4 overall (Seahawks lead 5-3 in Charlotte, Seahawks lead 4-1 at their place).

Last meeting: The Panthers haven't seen their old friends since Week 3 of the 2023 season, when the Seahawks took a 37-27 home win. Andy Dalton replaced injured rookie Bryce Young that day, but the Panthers started running out of guys on defense, as Frankie Luvu, Xavier Woods, and CJ Henderson finished the game on the sidelines, and Jaycee Horn and Shaq Thompson were on IR at that point.

So, to remember happier times, here's a picture of Cam Newton celebrating his game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Olsen in the 2015 regular season meeting. Look at that smile.

2024 rankings and results

Record: 10-7

Total offense: 14th

Total defense: 14th

Personnel moves

Key additions in free agency: Signed QB Sam Darnold, WR Cooper Kupp, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, OT Josh Jones, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Key additions in the draft: G Grey Zabel, S Nick Emmanwori, TE Elijah Arroyo, QB Jalen Milroe.

Changes from last year: After a promising first year for coach Mike Macdonald, they traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders to be with Pete Carroll, and replaced him with our old friend Sam Darnold. That was one of many moves, as they traded wideout DK Metcalf to the Steelers and released franchise icon Tyler Lockett, meaning this will be their first season without him since 2014.

Bringing Cooper Kupp in to mentor/complement Jaxon Smith-Njigba gives Darnold a chance to make plays all over the field, and he showed last year in Minnesota (except for the last two games) that he's more than capable of doing so. With new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, the hope is that they can improve the run game and keep Darnold in good spots.

They're building around a solid base of talent on defense (sound familiar?) after hanging onto linebacker Ernest Jones IV and defensive tackle Jarran Reed in free agency. But it's wild that Reed is the last link to the old Legion of Boom era.

What to watch for in 2025: Darnold clearly caught the Panthers at the wrong time, as he was 8-9 in 17 starts. There was some evidence of the kind of quality play we saw last year from him, namely the 3-0 start in 2021 before Christian McCaffrey got hurt, a time at which he led the league in rushing touchdowns.

And while the Seahawks offensive turnover is considerable, they bring back 10 starters from a defense that ranked in the top five in the league in yards, points, and first downs allowed from Week 11-18, while winning six of their last eight. That's a great place to start, and it mirrors the improvement the Panthers showed on offense in the second half last year.

It's an interesting contrast, and these two franchises have a past, with Dave Canales and Dan Morgan owning Super Bowl rings from their time with the Seahawks. So it will be interesting to see where these two teams are in the standings when they reach Week 17, and which one if not both was able to build on that momentum.