CHARLOTTE — The Panthers moved quickly on the first day of free agency, throwing big numbers at free-agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis.
But that created at least a little number problem, since they both wore 68 at their previous stops (Hunt in Miami, Lewis in Seattle).
Since Hunt got here first, he thought about calling Cade Mays (who previously held 68), but ultimately chose to go back to the 50 he wore at Louisiana-Lafeyette.
"I kind of talked to my beautiful woman beside me and I talked to some of my buddies from college, man, I think I'm going to go back to the 50." Hunt explained. "Sometimes you've got to switch it up, you've got to be a little different. That's distinctive. That's cool."
The Panthers have never had an offensive lineman wear 50, since that's usually been occupied by linebackers and a couple of defensive ends. James Anderson, Vinny Ciurciu, Duane Bickett, Jamal Fountaine, Brad Jackson, Christian Miller, Chris Slade, Julian Stanford, and Kinnnon Tatum have worn it in the past, along with Chandler Wooten when he first got here.
"Hopefully I can put a good memory on it, until next time you talk to the next guy in a couple of years," Hunt said. I've got to go to work. It might be a while."
Lewis was able to coax Mays out of 68 (a number of other numbers are still to be determined), but Mays has also been 64 and 66 at different points in his career here.
"Rob came in and told me he was going back to the OG, so I talked to Cade, and we handled it," Lewis said.
The Panthers also announced numbers for the rest of the new free agents and trade acquisitions from this offseason.
5 — Diontae Johnson
7 — Jadeveon Clowney
20 — Jordan Fuller
21 — Nick Scott
23 — Dane Jackson
45— K'Lavon Chaisson
47 — Josey Jewell
50 — Robert Hunt
68 — Damien Lewis
77 — Yosh Nijman
83 — David Moore
94 — A'Shawn Robinson
98 — D.J. Wonnum
You'll be able to see those numbers, and more, next week when the Panthers take the field for a voluntary minicamp. Stay tuned to Panthers.com for the latest photos and videos, so you can see what they look like.
View photos from the weight room as the Panthers' players went through their second week of voluntary offseason workouts on April 15, 2024.