Rookie minicamp, schedule release and other key Carolina Panthers dates to know
With the NFL draft wrapped up, the Carolina Panthers are looking toward several key dates for the upcoming season.
Panthers rookies Ikem Ekwonu, Matt Corral and the rest of the 2022 class will be in Charlotte next weekend for rookie minicamp, which is set for May 13-15. The Panthers are one of 20 teams that are holding rookie minicamp that weekend.
A key part of the onboarding process for first-year players is rookie minicamp. Drafted and undrafted players gather for what is usually their first taste of life in the NFL. Rookies will meet each other, work out together and practice on the field as they learn the ins and outs of their new playbooks and teams.
The Panthers are in phase one of their offseason program that began April 18. This phase includes just meetings, strength and conditioning and rehab work.
The second phase starts next week. It spans three weeks and features on-field work but no offense vs. defense drills. Phase three begins in late May, lasts four weeks and has practices known as OTAs (organized team activities). There can’t be any live contact, but teams can do 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills. Phase three also includes a mandatory minicamp, which the Panthers will hold June 14-16.
No portions of the offseason program are open to the public. However, one OTA practice each week will be open to the media. The entire minicamp is also open to reporters.
After mandatory minicamp, players are given a break until training camp, which for non-quarterbacks and veteran players opens 47 days prior to the team’s first regular-season game.
Panthers 2022 schedule release
At 8 p.m. next Thursday, May 12, the NFL reveals its regular-season schedule. An hour later, tickets to individual Panthers games go on sale. Fans can visit Ticketmaster.com or Panthers.com/tickets to purchase single-game tickets.
The Panthers play nine home games and eight road games in 2022.
Their home opponents include the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. Carolina will travel to face the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Bucs, Falcons and Saints
The Panthers also have a chance to play in an international game this year. The Bucs (Germany) and Saints (London) were both chosen to host international games in 2022. Those games will be announced Wednesday.
