CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Linebacker Thomas Davis and tight end Greg Olsen are featured in a picture at Bank of America Stadium of the captains from the 2015 Carolina Panthers season that ended with a trip to the Super Bowl.
Second-year coach Matt Rhule recently mentioned the picture -- which also included quarterback Cam Newton, center Ryan Kalil and linebacker Luke Kuechly -- because those players represent the type of men and leaders he wants to build the current team around.
Owner David Tepper mentioned three in particular that did as much for the Charlotte community as they did on the field at Thursday’s retirement ceremony for Davis and Olsen.
“Don’t worry, we’ll bring back the other one," Tepper told Davis and Olsen with a smile, referring to Newton.
Davis, Olsen and Newton were major pieces to Carolina’s 2015 run. All three were released within two years after Tepper purchased the franchise from founder Jerry Richardson in 2018.
All three deserve to retire as Panthers.
Davis and Olsen got their moment on Thursday, signing one-day contracts with Carolina to officially end their careers. Davis played with the Panthers from 2005-18 and Olsen from 2011-19.
There were a lot of tearful trips down memory lane. Most of those memories had little to do with football and everything to do with life.
Davis talked with great passion about how Richardson didn’t give up on him after he tore the ACL on his right knee for the third time and how being a member of the Panthers helped him overcome the loss of his brother.
“When you have a loss in your life, [God] has a way of replacing it in a way you can’t imagine," said Davis, wearing a custom suit that looked like his uniform with the familiar No. 58 and "Davis Sr." on the back. “And football has been a way to create friendships and bonds that will last forever.
“Every time I walk in this building I’m constantly reminded of all the people that have poured into this place, all the people that have poured into my life."
Olsen talked about what the Panthers meant to him while he dealt with his son, TJ, being born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect.
“The people were what made this place so unique," he said.
Davis and Olsen were unique.
Davis, the first player in NFL history to overcome ACL surgery on the same knee three times, went on to become the team’s all-time leading tackler in addition to winning the 2014 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Olsen holds almost every team record for tight ends and in 2016 became the first tight end in NFL history to have 1,000 yards receiving in three straight seasons. He also was a two-time finalist for the league’s Man of the Year Award.
The work both did in their foundations pushed their visibility to another level. Former Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart suggested in a star-filled video that Davis run for mayor of Charlotte for all he’s done in the community.
Davis quickly rejected the idea.
But football is what brought these two to Charlotte, so as they settle into the next chapters of their lives, let’s look back at three of the best plays made by each in careers filled with memorable big plays:
Thomas Davis
1. First NFL sack vs. Tom Brady (Sept. 18, 2005)
The first sack always is special, and this one is more special because it came against then-New England Patriots quarterback Brady. Davis, who wore No. 47 and played safety as a rookie out of Georgia before settling in at No. 58 and outside linebacker, blitzed from the right side. Veteran right tackle Thomas Ashworth (68) didn’t stand a chance, as Davis blew right past, leaving him grasping for air as he fell to the ground while Davis took Brady down.
2. Davis floors Arizona’s David Johnson in NFC Championship Game (Jan. 24, 2016)
The one thing Davis wanted more than anything was to get to the Super Bowl and win it. He didn’t win it after the 2015 season, but plays like this one, where he dropped Cardinals running back Johnson for a loss, helped him get there. Davis exploded off the right side and left wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald wondering how he missed him. Davis later broke his forearm, but still played with the injury two weeks later in the Super Bowl. Here is a picture of the arm Davis posted after the Super Bowl and his vowing after the NFC title game he will play.
3. Game-saving pick of Aaron Rodgers in the red zone (Nov. 8, 2015)
Davis had been chasing Green Bay quarterback Rodgers almost since the day both were selected in the first round of the 2005 draft. On this day, Rodgers was buying time in the pocket until he finally spotted a wide-open Randall Cobb on the right side of the end zone. But Davis was lurking, almost completely hidden by guard T.J. Lang’s 6-4, 315-pound frame. As Rodgers released the ball, Davis pushed off, leaped and brought down the ball around the 3-yard line with 1:54 remaining. That preserved a 37-29 victory that improved Carolina to 8-0.
Greg Olsen
1. One-handed catch against Atlanta (Oct. 2, 2016) -- WATCH
It was third-and-goal from the Atlanta 14 with 4:05 left to play. Carolina was trailing 34-18 and backup quarterback Derek Anderson had replaced Cam Newton, who was out with a possible concussion. Olsen had linebacker Phillip Wheeler on his inside where he was looking for the pass. The pass came to the outside. Olsen leaped, twisting his body as he reached up with his right hand, and snagged the pass with safety Ricardo Allen closing fast. He hauled it in just shy of the back of the end zone to pull Carolina within a score (after Olsen caught the subsequent two-point conversion).
2. One-handed catch against Tampa Bay (Nov. 4, 2018) -- WATCH
Olsen should get an assist on this one as he tipped the ball to himself to make the one-handed snag for a touchdown. It was third-and-goal from the Tampa Bay 17 with Carolina leading 28-7 in the second quarter. Olsen was matched up on the linebacker, as he often was and used it to his advantage. Quarterback Cam Newton was off target, but Olsen twisted and adjusted his body with Adarius Taylor draped all over him, tipped the ball up once and then grabbed it with his right hand for the score.
3. Amazing catch between two Seattle defenders (Jan. 17, 2016)
The Panthers were crushing Seattle 24-0 in the third quarter of the NFC Divisional playoff game. It was third-and-14 from the 19, but Olsen didn’t let the score affect his desire to make the big play. Sandwiched between two defenders, he went up for a leaping catch in the back of the end zone, grabbing the ball as it barely cleared the helmet of Jeremy Lane.