CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- New Carolina Panthers edge rusher Pat Jones II was planning a trip to Lake Norman on Wednesday, hoping to catch a big bass like the 8-pounder he landed as a 12-year-old in his uncle's pond not too far from Bank of America Stadium.
The former Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker loves to fish. So much so that the Panthers started counting how many times he mentioned fishing in interviews the first few days after signing a two-year, $20 million deal in March.
Final count: 23.
Jones even incorporated casting a reel and hauling in a fish into his sack celebration after taking down San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy last season,
"I got a whole bunch of fish stories," Jones told ESPN with a laugh.
But what Carolina needs from Jones on the field is to replace three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney, who was released earlier this month after the team drafted edge rushers Nic Scourton (Texas A&M) and Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss) in the second and third rounds, respectively.
Clowney had 5.5 of the Panthers' 17 sacks last season, a tally that was tied for last in the NFL.
"I never looked at this as an opportunity to fill any shoes," Jones said. "I looked at it as an opportunity to show everybody what I can do."
The NFL got a glimpse of that last season when Jones started only one game but had a career-high seven sacks in 15 games. That's three more than he totaled during his first three seasons in Minnesota and 1.5 more than Clowney or any other Panther had last season.
So he will be first up to replace Clowney opposite his former Vikings teammate D.J. Wonnum, who came to Carolina last offseason after tying his career high with eight sacks in 2023.
"I know I'm ready, but you've always got to have a good rotation," Jones said.
The Vikings are a model for that. In an era when teams do all they can financially to keep edge rushers, Minnesota has been through constant turnover the past four seasons. Besides losing Wonnum and Jones to free agency the past two years, the team has also lost stars such as five-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter and three-time Pro Bowler Za'Darius Smith.
But the Vikings have maintained a steady flow of sacks in their 3-4 scheme, which the Panthers also use, finishing tied for fourth last season with 49 and second in 2021 with 51.
Minnesota has been able to do that without overspending on any one position.
Last year, it allowed Hunter to go to the Houston Texans on a two-year, $49 million deal, then signed Andrew Van Ginkel to a one-year, $9 million deal and Jonathan Greenard to a four-year, $76 million deal. Greenard had 12 sacks in 2024 and Van Ginkel 11.5 -- combining for 6.5 more than Carolina had as a team.
"There was a big emphasis in the offseason on pressure and just disrupting the quarterback," Jones said of why Minnesota's model has worked. "Doing stuff like getting our hands up, getting in the pass lanes and collapsing the pocket, and just getting pressure."
For the Panthers, moving on from Clowney had as much to do with getting more reps for Jones, Wonnum and the two rookies as it did the $7.775 million in cap space saved on the 32-year-old veteran.
"When you watch the 2024 film, [Clowney] was a guy that gave us everything that he had on the field," coach Dave Canales said. "[But] we're developmentally minded, and we understand bringing in outside linebackers and [drafting] two edge rushers -- all those reps are valuable."
Carolina surprised most draft analysts by selecting Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in the first round despite having an immediate need at outside linebacker. General manager Dan Morgan believed the gap in the talent he could get with a receiver at No. 8 versus in the second or third round was far wider than what he saw in the edge rushers.
Check out some of the top highlights from Texas A&M's Nic Scourton.
Scourton and Umanmielen were players Morgan loved during the predraft process, and adding them made it easier to move on from Clowney.
In many ways, they fall into the role Jones (Round 3 in 2021) and Wonnum (Round 4 in 2020) had as developmental players in Minnesota.
"They can get to the quarterback," Morgan said. "They can play the run, and they can do all the things that we're going to ask them to do."
Getting back Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown, whose 2024 season ended in Week 1 with a torn left meniscus, will make the edge rushers' job easier. So will the additions of free agent nose tackle Bobby Brown III and defensive end Tershawn Wharton.
Jones believes the parts are there for a big sack swing just like the Vikings had from 2023 (25th) to 2024 (tied for fourth).
He also can see a big jump in QB pressure rate. The Panthers ranked last in the NFL last season at 22.7%. The Vikings ranked second at 44.4%, in large part because they had the league's top blitz rate (40.6%).
"I definitely think we could do something similar, if not better," Jones said. "I've seen it before, so I know what it looks like. I look around the building and see we have exactly what it takes to do that."
But before training camp, there will be fishing -- lots of it, just like Jones did in the Charlotte area when he spent many summers with family while his dad was in the military. Two of his favorite fishing holes are near his grandma's house, but he won't limit himself.
"I catfish, I catch bass, I fish in the ocean, I catch sharks," Jones said. "I catch red drum, I catch tuna, I catch wahoo. I catch everything."
If things go according to plan, he'll be reeling in quarterbacks for the Panthers too.