CHARLOTTE — Patrick Jones II is a citizen of the world. The Panther's newest outside linebacker has lived a bit of everywhere: his toddler years spent in Jacksonville, Fla.; elementary school in Naples, Italy; middle school in Misawa, Japan; high school in Chesapeake, Va.—all the places a person might go when the son of a military man.

But there's only one place he truly calls home.

"I grew up all over the place, and really the first place I ever really came back to in the United States was Charlotte," Jones began, weaving through the intricacies of his life that has circled everywhere but always comes back to the Queen City.

For most of his adolescence, Japan was home. The Jones family was forced to evacuate when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit the area. It took them two days to make the necessary flights across the Pacific and then North America before landing in Charlotte, where Jones's entire family—grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins—lived and still live to this day. It was a temporary stop, lasting the length of one semester of his seventh-grade year.

But 14 years later, to the exact day of that Trans-Atlantic trip, Jones signed a contract to stay in Charlotte for at least the next two seasons.

"The second the Panthers was in play, on the table, I just knew this was where I needed to be," he said. "I just need to be with my family."

Jones's wish was to start playing football when he lived in Misawa since American Football was available there, but a foot injury kept him from beginning his football journey. Instead, he first strapped on a helmet in 10th grade while attending high school in Virginia.

But Charlotte is where he fell in love with the sport while attending seventh grade at Piedmont Middle School in Monroe and standing on the sidelines while watching his cousins play the game, too young to participate but old enough to know it's where he wanted to be one day.

Jones spent the past four seasons in Minnesota, playing for a Vikings defense that finished the 2024 regular season in the top five in scoring defense and first in the league in takeaways, while Jones picked up 39 tackles and 7.0 sacks.

But his old friend and former teammate, D.J. Wonnum, was on the roster in Carolina, and the chance to play with him, building something for the Panthers, was an exciting opportunity.

"It's going to be crazy. I feel like it's something that I don't even have to talk about. Once it happens, everybody going to know," promised Jones. "Everybody going to know it's going to be big time.

"The duo of Pat and DJ, we could do anything. We could do anything we want to do like there's no limits. I don't want to put no limits on it. It's just, it's going to be big time."

During his time with the Vikings, Jones played with a star defensive end in Danielle Hunter, who had 32.5 sacks in their three years together. But playing in Charlotte allows him to line up alongside Derrick Brown, who can create a different kind of challenge.

"Everybody knows Derrick Brown," Jones stated. "He a beast, like the stuff he do out there, like the fact that he's going to be able to generate so much push and pressure up the middle, and it's going to help us be able to collapse the whole pocket and just put endless pressure on quarterbacks. It's going to be big time."

His second contract allows him to settle in, make a home in the city that has always been home, and find his own place.

But the only decision he's currently pondering is whether or not to move in with his mom and dad (his parents settled in Charlotte after his father, Pat Jones, retired from the military) or with his grandma.

"I was like, man, I might just stay with my grandma," joked Jones, the 25-year-old, dreaming of home cooking.

Jones is an avid fisherman, dropping his line in anything from a stream to an ocean, ready to catch catfish, sharks, marlin, and more. It's why he fit in while in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes.

"I catfish. I catch bass, I fish in the ocean. I catch sharks," Jones began, listing them one by one on his fingers and taking a quick breath before continuing. "I catch red drum. I catch tuna, I catch wahoo. I catch everything.

"I probably caught maybe like seven to eight sharks over the past two years. I caught about a 9-foot bull shark.

But Charlotte is where he first fell in love with the pastime, spending his summers at his grandma's house, his uncles Bug—"you can tell we're country"—and Terry teaching him the patience, skill, and commitment involved in the activity.

"I got two of my favorite fishing holes at my grandma's house," Jones shared. "That's why I actually grew up fishing… that place has a real deep, special place in my heart."

His uncle Terry passed away last month. But coming home to Charlotte lets Jones stay close to the man who meant so much.

"I know he's still here with us," Jones said, especially on the lake.

As Jones made his way through Bank of America Stadium on Thursday, meeting coaches, staff, and new teammates, his parents weren't far behind, watching with a smile that only comes from seeing your kid achieve their dreams. Having him closer makes life a little easier, too. Jones was already planning on flying in at the end of the month for a family reunion. Now, he'll already be on hand.

Pat Jones II has been a little bit of everywhere. But finally, he's home.

"It's just crazy," he pondered, "how it's a full circle moment."