2021 Carolina Panthers season
27th season in franchise history
The 2021 season was the Carolina Panthers' 27th in the National Football League (NFL), their first under general manager Scott Fitterer, as well as the second and final full season under head coach Matt Rhule.
The team began the season by winning their first three games before losing the next four. With a Week 10 win against the Arizona Cardinals, they matched their five-win total from each of the two previous seasons. However, the Panthers fell into a seven-game losing streak and failed to improve on their 5–11 record from the previous two seasons. After a Week 16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention for a fourth consecutive season.
Ahead of Week 10, quarterback Cam Newton returned to the franchise after a one-year absence following an injury to starter Sam Darnold.
Draft
Draft trades
Carolina traded their second- and fifth-round selection (39th and 151st overall) to Chicago in exchange for second-, third-, and sixth-round selections (52nd, 83rd, and 204th overall)
Carolina traded their second- and fourth-round selections (52nd and 113th overall) to Cleveland in exchange for second- and third-round selections (59th and 89th overall).
Carolina traded their third- and sixth-round selections (73rd and 191st overall) to Philadelphia for a third-round selection (70th overall)
Carolina traded a third-round selection (89th overall) to Houston in exchange for fourth- and fifth-round selections (109th and 158th overall) and a 2022 fourth-round selection.
Carolina traded a fourth-round selection (109th overall) to Tennessee in exchange for fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-round selections (126th, 166th, and 232nd overall).
Carolina traded quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to Denver for their sixth-round selection (191st overall)
Carolina traded a sixth-round selection (226th overall), 2022 second- and fourth-round selections to the New York Jets in exchange for quarterback Sam Darnold
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
The public source identifies “2021 Carolina Panthers season” as 27th season in franchise history. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Carolina, Panthers and season.
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