Carolina Panthers cornerback Troy Pride Jr.’s winding journey
By Charles K Harris
One of the most critical objectives of memorizing a team playbook is to ensure that both individual players and the team can implement an alternative play straight away, effortlessly, cohesively and seamlessly. NFL cornerback Troy Pride Jr. has learned, having an alternate play when life pulls an audible is equally critical.
“I was staring the death of my career in the face,” Pride, 28, explained, referring to the moment in 2021 during the Carolina Panthers preseason when he heard his ACL pop. “I didn’t have a safety net. I could only ever see being able to play.”
While Pride’s career wasn’t dead, it was delayed and he would spend the next two years in rehab, determined to make a complete recovery. However, recovering from the chilly disconnect Pride received from his Panther teammates and coaches took a little longer.
“I was without [the] people who I had thought were my friends,” he said. “No calls, no texts, no ‘How’s it going?’ from the coaches. You would think they had a vested interest in me getting better.”
Still by 2023, Pride had recovered well, therefore he was optimistic when he was called to the general manager’s office. The meeting was very brief. Pride was informed that he was being cut. “I was just a piece of paper, an injured piece of paper. A number, a name, a dollar sign,” Pride recalls.
A large component of his shock was because the NFL atmosphere sharply contrasted with his years at Notre Dame where he developed close and enduring friendships with his teammates.
Pride said even still he continues to maintain tight connections with his former Fighting Irish teammates such as Julian Love, Alohi Gilman, Khalid Kareem and Kyle Hamilton — all who have moved on to the NFL.
Although unceremoniously cut from the Panthers, Pride was still eligible to be signed to other teams, which happened in very quick succession. In fact, between 2023 and 2025, Pride was signed to and released from five other teams, often as a member of the practice squad.
“I’m a good player,” he said. “It’s frustrating and heartbreaking to be looked at as an extra, or a backup.” But Pride has no time for wallowing. “There is always something to gain from adversity.”
In this instance, Pride has channeled his adversity into creating a new career pathway, one paved off the gridiron. “The key is to pivot,” he said. “If something isn’t working and you want it to be successful, you change. If something isn’t good and you want it to be great, you change. Figure out a way to get there.”
However, Pride cautions against making impulsive changes.
“With these pivots [you need] intention, research [and] cultivated ideas,” he said. “If you can become comfortable with delayed gratification, it opens up so many possibilities.”
With deliberate research and calculated strategy, Pride began looking into the real estate industry. He said his casual interest soon blossomed into a new passion.
“First I thought ‘I can do this’ and now ‘I want to do this,” Pride said. He’s currently involved in his first house flip and is in talks with a construction company about creating a new development, he added.
“I’m investing in two funds that are helping to guide my understanding while [also] being an active participant,” he said. “I want to be onsite, taking in tangible information. I want to understand what each person is being paid to do.”
But make no mistake, Pride’s new interest is not solely about lining his pockets. “Land acquisition is a powerful thing and I would not look to abuse that by just trying to make a quick buck,” he said.
“Anything I do I want to be the absolute best. So my intention is to procure deals that make sense,” he explained. “Then build homes meant to last and hopefully make my community better in the process.”
Pride, who began 2026 as a free agent, continues to train vigorously in the hopes of being signed to another team, which he aims to do on his own terms. “It has to be the right scenario,” he said. “I want to be out on the field.”
Despite discouraging experiences he still relishes the chance to play again. “I love the game,” he said. “It’s an amazing time and space where nothing else matters, it’s so freeing.”
Although he has played in five major U.S. cities and travelled extensively, the Greer, South Carolina, native said he has chosen the Queen City as his forever home. “Charlotte is such a special city,” he said. I felt at home the moment I was drafted here and it’s shown [me] that same love since.”