Ask Bradley Bozeman to summarize his offseason, and he’ll only need four words, a shrug and a chuckle:

“It was definitely hectic.”

“Hectic” is no overstatement. Consider his past few months. In February, Bozeman stood at Allegiant Stadium’s midfield before Super Bowl LVIII as the Carolina Panthers’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year. In March, he hit free agency — the Panthers released the seven-year NFL center — and found a home with the Los Angeles Chargers. In April, he and his wife, Nikki, welcomed a baby girl to their family, giving a sister to their 1-year-old son.

And that’s all before the football.

“It was definitely a hectic offseason,” Bozeman reiterated to The Charlotte Observer. “But it was a good one.”

On Sunday, Bozeman will return to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte when the Chargers (1-0) play the Panthers (0-1) in Carolina’s home-opener. He’ll do so as a team captain — his first captaincy since his senior year at Alabama. He said Charlotte will always have a special place in his heart, and that he’s “grateful for the people I met and for the family I created there,” and that “the people of Charlotte are some of the most amazing people in the world.”

“So there’s no regrets,” Bozeman said. “No regrets there at all. Still have love for the people in Carolina, for my old teammates, all that kind of stuff. They wanted to go in a different direction, and it’s a business unfortunately, but I’m very excited where I am at this moment, and excited to come back to Charlotte and have a game there.”

How Bradley Bozeman will remember his time with Panthers

Panthers fans, and the city of Charlotte, remember Bozeman fondly, too.

Not long ago, Bozeman was the conductor of a mauling offensive line in Carolina. The 2022 season was the peak of their prowess. It’s hard to forget the December 2022 contest against the Lions on the B-of-A tundra, when the Panthers ran for 320 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 37-23 win over the Lions. That performance was validated — memorialized? — by the Lions’ colorful coach: “That was an absolute ass kicking,” Dan Campbell told then-interim coach Steve Wilks in his postgame handshake. “That’s a (expletive) great job!”

The next year, even as the offensive line took its lumps with the rest of the 2-15 Panthers, Bozeman was a source of positivity. The foundation he co-founded — The Bradley and Nikki Bozeman Foundation — partnered with The Tepper Foundation for a big event on Thanksgiving. Bozeman was also recognized as the team’s annual Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, an award the NFL dubs as “the league’s most prestigious honor” that “acknowledges NFL players who excel on the field and demonstrate a passion for creating a lasting, positive impact beyond the game.”

In the 2024 offseason, though, change was afoot in Carolina. The team brought in an offensive-minded coach in Dave Canales and promoted Dan Morgan as the team’s new general manager. The front office restructured the interior offensive line, signing Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis and moving Austin Corbett to center. That left Bozeman searching for his third NFL team since being drafted in 2018.

Bozeman was signed by the Chargers on March 18. The move made sense. He rejoined forces with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who Bozeman thrived under in Baltimore. It’s fair to say Jim Harbaugh had decent intel on Bozeman, too, considering the center played for his brother, John, as a Raven as well.

Bozeman embedded quickly with the team — and not only because former Panthers wide receiver DJ Chark (on IR) and tight end Hayden Hurst arrived there with him. He earned the starting job and was voted as one of his team’s six captain by his teammates, alongside quarterback Justin Herbert, safety Derwin James Jr., linebacker Khalil Mack, linebacker Denzel Perryman and offensive tackle Rashawn Slater.

Bozeman called being named a captain “an honor” and said it’s something he doesn’t take lightly, particularly as “the new face in the locker room.”

It also was an affirmation, he said.

“That moment summed up a lot of things for me,” he said. “God has a plan for everything. And God’s got a plan for me, and I know that with all my heart. So I think I’m at the right place at the right time, and we’re exactly where He wants me at.”

Chargers will be tough test

The Chargers got off to a good start in 2024. The team went to great lengths this offseason to transform the offense into one that can punish on the ground and keep Herbert safe in the pocket. (He was sacked 29 times in 2023.)

That mission was accomplished in Week 1 against the Raiders. The Chargers ran the ball (27 rush attempts) more than they threw it (26 pass attempts), and the big star was J.K. Dobbins, who took six carries for 135 yards and a touchdown en route to a 22-10 win.

Bozeman said the offensive line’s chemistry is coming together nicely. He said that the offense’s identity is “whatever’s working,” whether that means “passing the ball 60 times or running the ball 60 times.” When asked about Corbett moving from guard to center in Carolina — a switch Bozeman made in Baltimore — Bozeman offered heaps of praise to his former teammate and former Shrine Bowl roommate and longtime locker-room neighbor he calls “Corbie”: “He’s gonna lead that line, he’s gonna command it like he should,” Bozeman said. “I think he’s gonna be a great center for Carolina for years to come.”

The Chargers will also practice in Charlotte after their contest on Sunday because they have another game on the East Coast against the Steelers the following week. Bozeman’s foundation has a packing event planned for the week, too.

As for how he might feel when he runs out to Bank of America Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday?

“To me, it’s another stadium, another football field,” Bozeman said. He added it’s about “playing football and executing at a high level” and staying “in the moment” — focusing his attention where he is, where he’s supposed to be.