Frank Reich’s Carolina Panthers have already been treated to the likes of Steve Smith Sr. and Luke Kuechly during offseason practices. And luckily for them, they got themselves another legendary visitor on Wednesday.
Former linebacker and franchise great Thomas Davis was in attendance for the final installment of this year’s mandatory minicamp. Reich, in fact, was able to corral him over for some patented words of inspiration.
“I don’t know if you guys saw Thomas Davis on the sideline out there,” he said when asked about closing up the workout. “I just popped over, I said, ‘Hey, can you say a few words to us as a team? ‘Cause we’re headin’ out.’
“So, I didn’t have to say anything. He did all the work. And basically, his message was, ‘Hey, you put in a lot of work this offseason. Don’t let an ounce of it go to waste. Continue to work through the next six weeks and come back ready to go.’”
Reich was then asked about the importance of having former players come back to speak with his current ones.
“It’s a big deal,” he replied. “I mean, you guys know Thomas. My goodness, the guy’s incredible. So he came out there and he just reminded us of the standard. Like, he reminded us of the standard that has been set here—before he got here, the standard they set. And it’s really on us as a team, players and coaches, to kinda get the Panthers back to that status of where we wanna be. And that’s our responsibility.”
Davis spent 14 of his 16 NFL seasons in Carolina—where he earned a First-team All-Pro nod, three Pro Bowl selections and the 2014 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The Panthers, during his time in uniform, also racked up four NFC South titles, six total playoff appearances and a trip to Super Bowl 50.
So, for Reich and his Panthers, that’s the responsibility.
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Story originally appeared on Panthers Wire