CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the big questions heading into the Panthers' off-season this year was if veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson would be a cap causality or if the team and Thompson would work to restructure his contract to keep him on the roster as a part of this new era of the Carolina Panthers.
Both Thompson and the Panthers were able to reach an agreement by restructuring his current contract into a new two-year deal.
"Frank [Reich] was with me honestly, through that whole process just talking to me and telling me like, 'man, we really want you back,' but I mean, he doesn't do the money thing. So he was really calling me, texting me almost every day. MMP and Coach [Ejiro] Evero were reaching out to me, telling me how much they would love to have me back and stuff like that," Thompson explained.
One of the reasons Thompson said he wanted to stay with Carolina is to continue to battle things out on the field for the franchise, fans, and players who have become his brothers that he's been on this rollercoaster ride with since being drafted in 2015. Now, Shaq and the rest of the roster will have the opportunity to do just that under a new regime with a lot of NFL experience.
"This staff has been a blessing. Over 200 years of experience," he said, "so it's like, why wouldn't you feel comfortable? You know what I mean? Everybody knows the game. They've been coaching for a long time. So there's no reason not to be confident and comfortable with these coaches, you know what I mean, all you got to do is just get to know them."
Contact Ashley Stroehlein at astro@wcnc.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
