CHARLOTTE — The Panthers held onto a pair of young players who had key roles last season on Friday.
The team placed a restricted free agent tender on center Cade Mays, as well as one on exclusive rights free agent defensive end LaBryan Ray.
Mays, originally the team's sixth-round pick in 2022 (199th overall) came back from a stint on the Giants practice squad and started the final eight games of the season.
That coincided with the team's offensive resurgence, and he played well down the stretch in place of the injured Austin Corbett.
He's played in 38 games over three years with the Panthers and started 15. Having him back provides quality depth in the middle. General manager Dan Morgan said at the combine he hoped to retain both Mays and Corbett, an unrestricted free agent.