Sir Purr need not groom himself for his close-up under the lights in 2024.
The Carolina Panthers will be the lone NFL team to have zero prime-time games on the schedule entering the season. They are playing a standalone game against the New York Giants in Germany on Nov. 10 (Week 10) at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Last year, the Arizona Cardinals , Atlanta Falcons , Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans all did not receive prime -time placements with the league's initial schedule release. However, the Texans and Colts played each other Week 18 in a game that was flexed to the Saturday night game on ESPN.
That the Panthers did not draw a prime-time game is not much of a surprise considering the team's 2-15 showing last season – the league's worst record – and state of the roster, as it is in the early stages of a rebuild under general manager Dan Morgan and owner David Tepper.
The Panthers traded what ended up becoming the 2024 No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago Bears last year for the right to draft Bryce Young , who struggled mightily in his rookie campaign. Head coach Frank Reich was fired 11 games into the season, and first-time head coach Dave Canales, most recently offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , was hired this offseason to replace him.
During the offseason, the Panthers traded their most accomplished defensive player, two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Brian Burns , to the New York Giants.
The New York Jets have the maximum allotment of six prime-time games and both they and the Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled for seven standalone games.
Carolina opens the 2024 regular season with a road NFC South matchup against the New Orleans Saints .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carolina Panthers are only NFL team with no 2024 prime-time games
