CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was an offseason of change for the Carolina Panthers’ offseason line.Due to the free-agency departure of Cade Mays and an injury to Ikem Ekwonu, the Panthers have competitions at center and left tackle featuring new players at both spots. First-round pick Monroe Freeling and free-agent acquisition Rasheed Walker will compete at left tackle, with veteran Luke Fortner and fifth-rounder Sam Hecht vying for the center job.Meanwhile, the guy lining up between them remains the same. Damien Lewis has been a constant presence for the Panthers since signing a four-year, $53 million contract in 2024. The Panthers might have more vocal players along their offensive line and veterans who’ve been with the franchise longer.But it’s hard to argue with the availability and dependability Lewis has provided since joining the many former Seattle Seahawks players and coaches who followed Dave Canales to Charlotte two years ago.Lewis has started 33 of 35 games in Carolina, including last season’s playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. Though Lewis hasn’t been to a Pro Bowl in his six seasons, he’s graded out well metrically with the Panthers.Lewis’ 75.7 overall grade by Pro Football Focus last season ranked 11th among 81 qualified guards, while his pass-blocking grade of 78.5 was third at the position. He allowed just one sack and three quarterback hits in nearly 1,000 offensive snaps.So while Fortner and Walker took most of the first-team reps during the first OTA practice last week, there was Lewis holding down his usual spot at left guard. Same as it ever was.“Just come here and put my head down and work, no matter who’s beside me at left tackle or center,” Lewis said after that initial OTA session. “My job is to motivate them and get them going and help. Seven years in, so I’m at the point where I’ve got to lead the younger guys — Rasheed, Monroe and Luke.”OTA practices are voluntary, but the 29-year-old Lewis has never viewed them as optional.“Since I’ve been playing, I look at this like how committed you are to the team (and) the organization,” he said. “Come out and bust your tail, mingle with the guys, know the playbook, get to know the coaches and just be out here grinding with your boys. I never took these days for granted.”Given Lewis’ experience in the Seattle-influenced offense, Canales is glad to have him out there helping Walker and the other newcomers who are hearing the terminology and play calls for the first time.“It’s fantastic because Damien’s been in our system for a long time, whether it was in Seattle and now here, his third season in Carolina. To have him communicate — as the calls come from the center … it echoes out, inside out,” Canales said.“So having Damien there with a lot of experience I’m sure creates a lot of ease for Rasheed just hearing the right words come out, which will help that development.”Lewis was half of Dan Morgan’s double-dip at guard in free agency a couple of months after becoming the Panthers’ general manager in January 2024. With a bigger personality and bigger contract (five years, $100 million), Rob Hunt has overshadowed Lewis a bit. But Lewis has been just as valuable to a team that snapped a seven-year playoff drought in 2025.“He’s a quiet guy, but he’s funny if you get to know him. He’s really got the dawg in him. I can just see the flip switch in him,” Hunt said of Lewis. “He can be in here and he’ll shoot the (bull), act like it don’t really matter to him. But when he gets on the field, it flips. And he wants to be good, so that right there is motivation.”As Hunt suggested, Lewis is more than happy to let others do most of the talking. But Lewis is happy to let others do the talking.“I like to play the back seat — observe, listen, just watch things from afar (and) … sit back,” he said. “You don’t need to be in the front seat every time. You don’t need the spotlight on you every time.”Most of the offseason spotlight shined on the Panthers’ reinforcements up front, as Morgan looked to fill the gaps created when Ekwonu ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee during the wild-card loss to the Rams and Mays signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency. Like he did at guard in 2024, Morgan added two players at each position.Lewis hasn’t been with the new guys long. But he got a taste of Freeling’s power during a recent run drill. “He fired off the ball and hit me in my chest. I said, ‘Yeah, he got it,’” Lewis said of the former Georgia standout. “You can tell — 6-7, 330. Freak, man.”Lewis also offered his first impressions of two of his other new linemates.On Walker, the ex-Green Bay Packers tackle: “He’s hungry. You can tell that he wants to play football. You can tell that he wants to be good. He listens. (When) he’s on the field, he’s running around, he wants it.”On Fortner, who was with the New Orleans Saints last year after three seasons in Jacksonville: “Very smart. I’ve been around a couple centers who are real, real smart. Luke’s one of those bright ones. He picks up real fast (in) this OTAs. So I like what I see from him.”Lewis, a third-round pick by the Seahawks in 2020 out of LSU, made a point to get away during the offseason. He and his wife, whom he met in college, took trips to Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Isle of Palms, S.C., with their three children. While the kids enjoyed waterslides and other activities, Lewis mostly kicked back.“Watching my kids swim (and) play,” he said, “that’s what it’s all about.”But once Lewis returned to Charlotte for the offseason program, his focus returned to the task at hand. Asked about his personal goals for the upcoming season, Lewis first mentioned a Super Bowl title, then mentioned making his first Pro Bowl and earning an All-Pro selection.And though he’s halfway through his first Panthers’ contract, Lewis said he hadn’t given the matter much thought.“My job is to come to work, and God’s gonna take care of the rest. I don’t even worry about the future, man. I’m right here. I’m 10 toes down right here,” Lewis said, tapping his size-14 Crocs. “I’m gonna be where my feet at.”