CHARLOTTE — Make it 260 and counting.

The Panthers brought back the longest-tenured player in franchise history Friday, signing long snapper JJ Jansen to yet another one-year deal to bring him back for a 17th season here.

The 39-year-old Jansen has been with the Panthers since 2009 and has played in more games than any player in franchise history. He broke the Panthers record held by his old mentor, John Kasay, in December 2022.

His mark of 260 games played is also 41st all-time in league history, and he could get to 27th all-time if he plays every game this year to get to 277, passing, among others, Hall of Famers Jan Stenerud (263), Julius Peppers (266), Peyton Manning (266), Junior Seau (268), Lou Groza (268), and Tony Gonzalez (270).

"I always think to myself, those guys are mighty impressive because those positions that they play are a lot more physically challenging than mine," Jansen said Friday, with his wife Laura and their four children joining him for the signing. "So it speaks to how impressive those guys are.

"On a personal level, I would be lying if Laura and I thought that we would do this for this long, and it's just very humbling to realize that we've been blessed with an incredible opportunity. The Lord has been very kind to us. This organization has been very kind to us, and we're just very thankful that we get to keep doing this year after year, be a part of this great organization, and mentor young players. The two of us were incredibly strongly mentored as we were young, a young married couple, and just the opportunity to be still doing this and impart that back on other guys, both the professional, the personal, and the community-based stuff."

He's tied on the all-time games played list with former Lions long snapper Don Muhlbach (260), and only longtime Cardinals long snapper Trey Junkin (281) has played more games at the position. Growing up in Phoenix as a Cardinals fan, Jansen used to watch Junkin warm up on the sidelines of Sun Devil Stadium.

"I've never once thought about passing anybody or doing any of that, but you know, obviously, that becomes the one stat of a long snapper is how many games you play," Jansen said. "Trey was the first snapper I ever watched play. He was later in his career playing with the Cardinals, and as I started to get into long snapping, I would be at the games watching him play. My dad and I always laughed back then. The Cardinals were not particularly good, and the punter and the snapper would always warm up on first down. We always thought that that was a sign. I can now say, having done this for a long time, it's just part of a routine, but as a young kid, I thought, man, they do not think their team's very good.

"So, that's just kind of a full circle thing thinking about Trey Junkin."

In addition to the sheer number of games, he's also played them all here. Also, only five players have played more games with one team: Larry Fitzgerald (263), Lou Groza (268), Darrell Green (295), Bruce Matthews (296), and Jason Hanson (327). Four of them are in the Hall of Fame (all but Hanson).

"It's wild to think because I watched those guys play a really long time, and especially in one location, and you know, that's a pretty rare thing," Jansen said. "So just to be a part of that's pretty, pretty special."

Jansen arrived prior to the 2009 season in a trade with the Packers after spending his first year on IR with Green Bay.

Since then, he's the only long snapper the Panthers have ever known and just the sixth in the 30-year franchise history, following Mark Rodenhauser (1995-97), Jerry Jensen and Danny Villa (1998), Brian Kinchen (1999-2000), and Jason Kyle (2001-2008).

In that time, he's played under eight head coaches, including interims. Considering that original coach Dom Capers came back as a senior assistant two years ago, he's been with all of the coaches in franchise history except George Seifert.

And now, he gets to continue to add to that legacy.