CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As inside linebacker Shaq Thompson spoke to media for the last time before players broke for the offseason, you could see a blown-up photograph of former Carolina Panthers great Thomas Davis Sr. behind him and the team training room to his right.
The symbolism spoke volumes about where the career of the 10-year veteran is.
Thompson is one of Carolina's 21 players set to become unrestricted free agents. Few, if any, provide management with a more complex decision.
Like Davis, the team's all-time leading tackler, Thompson wants to finish his career with Carolina.