The Carolina Panthers led the NFL with 39 takeaways in the regular season. In their playoff opener against the Seahawks on Sunday, they picked off Russell Wilson twice, returning one of those interceptions for a touchdown.
That makes their new locker room sign especially fitting.
New sign above DBs lockers in @Panthers locker room @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/zKrmhNFMYK
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 18, 2016
According to ESPN, that sign arrived on Friday from a Connecticut-based Panthers fan. The fan also included a message for the team's defensive backs.
"It said to the residents of Thieve Ave," safety Tre Boston said. "It just showed up. I promise you."
The new sign completed a pretty remarkable turnaround. This is how it began a week ago: with cardboard and a typo.
Panthers safety Roman Harper apologizes for whoever made the sign "Thieve Ave.," which... https://t.co/bqCURkaHtF pic.twitter.com/iZxOrcHCxf
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) January 11, 2016
But the quality drastically improved when Ron Rivera's daughter, Courtney Rivera, designed a more attractive version of the sign.
The Panthers secondary had the "Thieves Ave." sign stylized and an "s" added to Thieve... https://t.co/48YKvD1Rk9 pic.twitter.com/pI1BsS6y0Y
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) January 13, 2016
With the addition of the fan-made sign, Courtney Rivera's sign made its way to cornerback Lou Young's locker, which isn't situated with the other members of the secondary, per ESPN.
And no, as far as I can tell, Panthers quarterback and sign snatcher Cam Newton has not gotten ahold of any of those signs and thrown them away. He seems to be saving up his arm for any and all Cardinals signs that make their way into Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
