Next time, Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown will know to leave well enough alone.

“I hadn’t missed a game in my career other than when I had COVID,” Brown said on Monday, “so I was talking to my wife. and I told her I damn near felt invincible. So a little reality check hit me this year.”

The former Auburn All-American sustained a meniscus injury in the first game of the season on Sept. 8 and spent the remainder of the campaign on injured reserve.

“It sucked to miss the whole season,” Brown said. “Not to be able to be out there with the guys, especially we knew we were going to have a tough challenge ahead of us. And just not being able to help and contribute, it hurt at first.

“But being here with these guys every single day, being in the training room, support staff, I mean, it’s been awesome. I mean, they’ve been there for me through every single step of the way. And I come in here and get to hang out with them and get to harass everybody a little bit and go on about my day.”

In the 2023 season, only three defenses in the NFL yielded fewer yards than Carolina’s. Brown earned Pro Bowl recognition as he recorded 103 tackles – 11 more than any other NFL defensive lineman. Since tackles became an official statistic in 2001, Brown had five more than any other interior defensive lineman had recorded in one season. Brown also had two sacks, seven tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, one interception and five pass break-ups during his fourth NFL campaign.

But in 2024, the Carolina defense was historically poor. The Panthers allowed 534 points, the most in one season in NFL history. Carolina broke the record of the 1981 Baltimore Colts by one point. The Panthers defense yielded 6,877 yards in 2024. Only one team in the NFL history has allowed more – the 2012 New Orleans Saints, who gave up 7,042.

After losing its top three 2023 players in sacks, including leading tackler Frankie Luvu, in the offseason, Carolina had an injury epidemic on defense. Only two players – cornerback Michael Jackson from Spain Park High School and safety Xavier Woods – started every game.

The Panthers’ situation got so dire that Carolina signed Chandler Wooten, a former Auburn teammate of Brown’s, off the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad on Dec. 23, and he started the final two games of the season at linebacker and played all but three of the team’s defensive snaps.

RELATED: AUBURN NFL ROUNDUP: WEEK 18

“We had a lot of our big pieces missing,” Brown said. “Went through an offseason where we got rid of guys, and to be able to still have the core pieces we had and then lose them, I mean, that was tough. …

“Just kind of watching the games and then knowing how teams attacked us last year and then playing those same teams, how they try to play us this year, they’re attacking the scheme, man. Those missing pieces that we have on defense, I mean, they’re going right at it.”

The Panthers finished 5-12 for the franchise’s seventh consecutive losing season. But Brown is excited about what’s ahead for Carolina, starting with continuity at the top. Since Brown joined the Panthers as the seventh pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Carolina has had five head coaches or interim head coaches. But first-year coach Dave Canales will be back for Year 2 in 2025, as will general manager Dan Morgan. Even defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will return for a third season with the Panthers.

“We’re excited about being able to continue the process and build on what we already have,” Brown said. “… I think the uncertainty sucks, to be honest.”

Carolina closed its campaign with a 44-38 overtime victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. With second-year quarterback Bryce Young accounting for five touchdowns, the Panthers had their highest-scoring game since 2017.

RELATED: CAROLINA PANTHERS GENERAL MANAGER: ‘THAT’S THE SAME BRYCE THAT WE SAW AT ALABAMA’

“It makes me very excited to get back, I’ll tell you that much,” Brown said. “And then for them to go and beat Atlanta yesterday, I was thrilled, to say the least. …

“Getting a win, going into 2025, I mean, that’s something for us to build on, not something to hang a hat on, but something for us to build on. And just watching the guys yesterday fight, I mean, that’s what it’s all about. I mean, this game’s hard enough, so to be able to come in here and watch them go do that yesterday, I mean, that was awesome.”

Brown said his rehab still had a ways to go, but he expects to be back in form for 2025.

“I’m good,” Brown said. “I’m halfway through the process of coming back, so I hope to be back by OTAs, being here every Sunday with the training-room staff. And it’s been good for me. Mentally, I haven’t really had a mental break — my kids. So just getting to do things that I don’t normally get to do. Doing pick up and drop off and going to class parties, so we did a lot of things this year that I may not get a chance to do for a while.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.