Panthers’ search for a training camp hero begins with Demani Richardson — again
Early on in Wednesday morning’s training camp practice, Demani Richardson made a play that transported you to another time and place.
The play itself was pretty simple. The second-year defensive back was the lone high safety in a 7-on-7 rep. He crouched down in a stance. Quarterback Bryce Young then received the snap, took a one-step drop and fired a deep ball — and by that time Richardson had already taken off running.
“I felt Bryce looking that way,” Richardson told The Charlotte Observer. He then shrugged. “So I just trusted my eyes, went up and got the ball.”
The interception made the defensive sideline erupt. The play was explosive. Electric. It set a tone that would unfurl throughout the rest of the first day of Carolina Panthers training camp — a day in which the defense dominated.
But for however unique it was Wednesday, it also felt feverishly familiar.
And that’s because the play launched Richardson as the front-runner to be the Carolina Panthers’ training camp hero.
Again.
The earnest Carolina Panthers fan has known Richardson for a full calendar year now. That’s because the 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety made so many plays last training camp that he played himself into relevance. And that required a lot.
Richardson, after all, was a mere undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M at this time last year, with the proverbial cards stacked against him when it came to making the 53-man active roster. He was brought in last year on a 2024 Panthers team that had “three starting-caliber safeties” on its roster, according to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero at the time. Those three were Xavier Woods, Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott. There was 2023 fifth-round draft pick Jammie Robinson waiting in the wings, too.
But Richardson kept making plays in camp. He hauled in an interception in a preseason contest against the New York Jets and returned it 29 yards. He also had a two-interception and one-pass-break-up day in the team’s lone joint practice with the Jets a few days prior. He proved that he knew where to be against the run in camp and that he was a reliable tackler in the preseason — impressing enough to convince head coach Dave Canales that he was worthy of a spot on that team’s initial 53-man roster.
But things changed quickly, as they do in the NFL. Richardson was cut from the Panthers a day after making the team to make room for one of the Panthers’ six acquisitions on the waiver wire. He later returned to Carolina as a practice squad guy, waiting again for another chance. And that chance came in the middle of the season — when injuries made it possible for him to get starts in Week 8 and Week 9 — and then soared so high that he ultimately took the starting job from Fuller by Week 16.
Richardson ultimately started five of the 14 games he played, and he recorded one interception, two pass deflections, one tackle for loss and 51 tackles.
Now, 12 months later, he’s back in the same place making plays — and is doing so with the possibility of being one of the Panthers’ starting safeties this year.
“He’s got a knack for the ball,” Canales said of Richardson after Wednesday’s practice. “It started last year. So he shows up on the first day with an interception on a ball that was slightly overthrown there, and he went from the middle of the field and made a play on that.”
The coach added that Richardson has grown immensely as a leader. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn said the same. And that’s natural considering he’s been given the space and the trust to become one.
“I think if you’re asking for one specific thing, it’s watching him talk,” Canales said. “He’s got to be connected with the corner, the nickel — the calls that are coming with motions and those things — and I think that’s probably the biggest growth that I see from Demani: His level of comfort in our system to be able to talk loudly.
“I think sometimes the guys will sheepishly whisper something out there, but when you can hear them loud, and they own it, and they’re demonstrative, you know that they really have grown in the understanding of the concepts.”
‘I knew I was built to be in the league’
Richardson’s journey from undrafted rookie flying under the Panthers’ radar, to training camp hero, to last guy cut, to NFL starter — it all feels simultaneously long ago and close by.
“Last year, I was concerned with making the team, making a role for myself, obviously,” he said. “I was undrafted. But even though I was undrafted, I knew I was built to be in the league. I knew I was made to be in the NFL. I have that mindset. So it’s just about working, making plays, and keep producing and always working, making plays and keep producing and always working hard.”
He admitted that he didn’t know how big of a deal last year’s cut-down day was until it came. And then, once the day arrived, he told his closest friends and family that he wanted to make the team so bad he’d probably cry if he didn’t. The tears once he was released didn’t come, though; instead there was disappointment but also peace. He knew he did everything he could, telling himself, “You balled out, you worked hard, you showed up early every day, did extra” — did everything in his control and left the rest up to “God’s plan.”
This past year led him to Wednesday: Doing the kinds of things that transport us to training camp of yesteryear, this time with a starting safety spot in reach. Richardson is expected to have a big role in this defense alongside several other safeties the Panthers added this offseason. Among those safeties are Tre’Von Moehrig — “He’s a do-it-all kind of guy,” Richardson said — and hard-hitting rookie draft pick Lathan Ransom.
The second time his status as a “training camp hero” last year was brought up in an interview Wednesday, Richardson offered a modest smile and a polite correction.
“I don’t know about hero, now,” he said.
Fortunately last year, everyone else knew on his behalf.
And they’re taking early notice again.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Panthers’ search for a training camp hero begins with Demani Richardson — again."
