Panthers’ special teams running it back with a proven crew

CHARLOTTE — When teams talk about running it back, about reassembling a roster that showed success the previous year, it’s often in reference to the offense or the defense.

Special teams is often collected from pieces pulled from the rest of the roster, resulting in the most turnover of any room, save the three steady positions: kicker, punter, and long snapper.

It started with the consistent trio, with last year’s rookie Ryan Fitzgerald still under contract and coming off a season in which he hit four game-winning kicks, the eternal JJ Jansen returning for another round with what has become his standard one-year deals, and punter Sam Martin inking a two-year deal with the club.

That kind of deal for both the position and Martin’s age (36) is rare. But after a season in which Martin finished in the top 15 league-wide in punts placed inside the 20 (ninth, with 27) and fair catches forced (15th, with 16, or 40 percent), Martin and the Panthers knew they wanted to extend the partnership.

“Sam loves being here, enjoyed his season,” said special teams coordinator Tracy Smith. “Sam, he wants to be in Charlotte and be with this team.”

And that team, as mentioned, looks a lot like the 2025 Panthers. For someone like Martin, who has been around the league for a while, it’s a nice feeling to walk back into. Because, other than a Week 4 game against the New England Patriots, Martin saw a group work to become one of the best in the league.

“I think that shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Obviously, we started a little shaky the first four weeks of the season, especially the Patriots game. But I mean after that Patriots game, if you just look at our tape from Week 5 on, I mean, I think we had like four games in a row at one point with 0 return yards,” pointed out Martin. “It was something crazy through like eight games, we had like 20 return yards.”

To be fair, a lot of teams struggled with the Patriots’ Marcus Jones, who finished fourth in the NFL in total punt yards returned and first with two touchdowns.

As Martin noted, though, removing that Week 4 (waves hand at a box score most want to forget) leaves a special teams unit that impressed on every front: Top 6 in punt return yards allowed and average yards allowed.

On kick return coverage, even including Week 5, the Panthers held teams to the second-lowest kick return average in the league with 22.6 yards per return. The unit also held teams to the fifth-lowest successful kickoff return rate while forcing two fumbles.

“It was really cool to watch the whole group grow,” continued Martin. “That Week 4 was unfortunate — sometimes you need that to be like, all right, what are we doing because, I don’t know if it was ever necessarily a personnel thing. We just kind of needed to get our shit together.

“I was super excited to see those guys re-signed too because all those guys were a big part, had a big part to do with that growth throughout the season.”

Added Smith, “Those guys, they earned re-ups. They all played well on their one-year deal. The Panthers gave them an opportunity to come back. They wanted to come back, so it fit where we are right now.”

Evans returned for his third season with the Panthers and fifth overall in the league. He’s a veteran corner who has provided valuable backup in the defense back unit, but has also become a speedster on special teams, converting his DB fluidity to kick and punt coverage.

“I think the key is embracing your role and figuring out the guys around you,” said Evans. “It’s easy for some guys to just be like, ‘Look, I’m going to go out there and do what I’m asked to do and kind of be selfish about it.’

“But when you get to know your teammates and know what they like and don’t like and how they operate best and don’t, it helps the team gel together, and special teams is a collection of guys. Offense, defense, you know, different people that have to come together.

“That’s the greatest thing about football, right? It’s the ultimate team sport. But we just spent time around each other and embraced it and had fun with it, so it was easy to gel with those guys.”

Special teams, as Evans reminded, is an amalgamation of different positions, talents, and backgrounds, typically getting the least amount of practice and meeting time together, yet asked to do a job that depends on communicating on the field without speaking.

This Panthers special teams unit, according to Evans, has found a groove in that sense by doing more than just talking off the field.

“A lot of people just miss the value in listening, and hearing guys’ journeys and what got them to this point, because just like in coaching, I feel like that’s how you learn someone the best,” preached Evans. “You can’t treat everybody the exact same way or learn from someone the exact same way. There are different ways to connect with people, so you just got to talk to them.

“It’s always a journey thing for me, because it’s easy to assume. You read stuff about people, and it’s like, you think you know somebody until you really talk to them.”

Someone with one of the more interesting journeys on this Panthers’ special teams unit is Simmons. The former first-round safety spent three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, two with the Giants, and began the 2025 season with the Green Bay Packers. He didn’t arrive in Charlotte until late November and was inserted into the special teams lineup for the final five regular-season games.

“I always say I like who likes me, so it just feels good. It feels like home here, besides all the Clemson love I get around here,” the former Tiger joked. “I get a lot of love from everyone here and support from everybody on the staff, everybody in the building, everybody on the team, it just feels good.”

Simmons made one of the most memorable special teams plays of the season when he blocked a punt against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card game, giving Carolina the ball deep in Rams territory with just over four minutes to play. Bryce Young and Jalen Coker connected for a touchdown four plays later.

Then, MVP Matthew Stafford was able to march down the field for a game-winning drive that ended the Panthers’ playoff run. It’s why Simmons hasn’t been able to stomach going back and watching any part of the game, much less his punt block.

Source: www.panthers.com