Panthers 2021 season opener countdown: 24 days to go

We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2021 season.

We’re 24 days away from the Carolina Panthers 2021 season opener, so today’s countdown piece is devoted to No. 24 on the roster — cornerback A.J. Bouye.

The 30-year-old Bouye is no longer a young buck in the NFL. He’s no longer on top of the world like when he was one of the most prized free agents of 2017, signing with Jacksonville for five years and $67.5 million.

His tenure in Florida lasted three seasons, but not without reaching career highs in tackles (65 in 2019) and interceptions (6 in 2017).

The Jaguars traded Bouye to Denver in 2020, where he lasted just one season. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve in September, but started the next seven games. Bouye then got suspended for the final four games of the season for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy. He’ll need to sit out the first two games of this season as well.

Now Bouye will be the veteran in the meeting room for a young Panthers backfield including rookie corner Jaycee Horn, 2018 second-rounder Donte Jackson and safety Jeremy Chinn, a second-round pick in 2020, among others.

“I realized when I was visiting teams this offseason that that label was starting to be put on me. I could have fought it. A few years ago I probably would have,” Bouye told the Panthers. “But I also realize I’m not going to be in the league 20 years, so part of what I have to do is help the next generation of guys be ready, the same way guys helped me when I was young.”

The addition of Horn meant that Bouye would need to adjust the role he planned to play on the field, noted the Panthers website. The Panthers want to maximize the skills of Jackson and Horn, likely moving Bouye to the slot corner.

“I didn’t know this was going to be the deal when I came here,” Bouye said. “Of course, when I visited, I didn’t know who they were going to draft. Once they drafted Jaycee, I pretty much knew.”

The Panthers website wrote that Bouye has taken on the role of teacher, “and the Panthers have been extremely pleased with how quickly he’s taken to that part of the job.”

“A.J. Bouye, I’m so impressed with him,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said during minicamp. “He’s played a long time, but he comes in with a humility to want to learn our system.”