Football is back for the Carolina Panthers as they strive for better fortunes.

Carolina Panthers football is back. Yes, it’s just the preseason for now. But the need to set the right tone is obvious based on how things went down this time last year.

Frank Reich blamed his lackluster offense over Carolina’s preseason slate on a vanilla scheme. He stated the good stuff was being saved for when results mattered more in the regular season. The same complications emerged almost from start to finish in 2023 and the head coach paid with his job after just 11 games.

The Panthers need to take something positive from their warmup games. Building back confidence is essential for a two-win team that endured significant hardship last season. Dave Canales won’t be giving much away, but he must oversee a fundamentally sound operation in readiness for their upcoming challenges.

Carolina will tackle three adversaries from the AFC East before their Week 1 game at the New Orleans Saints. Just how many established veterans with their roles guaranteed will participate is anyone’s guess. These contests primarily center on players looking for a final opportunity to stake their claim for places on the 53-man roster.

Here are the dates and times for Carolina’s preseason schedule over the next three weeks.

Carolina Panthers 2024 preseason schedule

• Preseason Week 1: at New England Patriots – Thursday, August 8 (7:00 p.m. ET)
• Preseason Week 2: vs. New York Jets – Saturday, August 17 (7:00 p.m. ET)
• Preseason Week 3: at Buffalo Bills – Saturday, August 24 (1:00 p.m. ET)

The results aren’t important, in all honesty. At the same time, the Panthers have to generate some encouraging momentum to raise confidence among the fanbase.

They’ve been burned by offseason hope and delusional projections from those in prominent leadership positions previously. While there’s a sense of cautious optimism among the team’s long-suffering support after a decent enough offseason with Canales and general manager Dan Morgan leading the charge, they need to see an improved football product before they can believe it.

Canales has already stated that quarterback Bryce Young won’t play in their preseason opener against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. This is a contentious issue considering the need to develop chemistry with Austin Corbett and his primary pass-catchers.

The signal-caller wants to compete. However, the head coach is erring on the side of caution with the offensive line not yet up to the required standard.

It’ll be fascinating to see which players come to the fore over preseason. Impressing during camp practices doesn’t compare to making big plays in a typical game-day setting. For many, it could be the difference between making the squad or being cast aside entirely. Time to dig deep and leave no doubt after so much hard work throughout a frantic summer.

As for Canales? This is a journey into the unknown as a first-time head coach. Coping effectively with the complete management of team affairs on the sideline is crucial.