With the start of free agency inching closer Tuesday, the Carolina Panthers were nervous. They had already wrapped up a handful of deals, but there was one left they weren’t sure would happen. Turns out, they didn’t have to be all that worried about Ed Dickson, after all.After the team officially announced a new three-year deal with the tight end Thursday, he confirmed a number of teams had recently reached out. But the foundation he built last year in Carolina trumped thoughts of starting over in Denver, Oakland, Cleveland, Arizona or Miami.”I don’t think any team even came close to the Panthers because when a team wins over your heart like the Panthers, it’s hard to walk away from home,” Dickson said on a conference call with local reporters.“I knew exactly where I wanted to be. I gave my agent the green light, ‘Get me on.'”When Dickson came to Carolina last year after four seasons in Baltimore, the hope was he’d team with Greg Olsen to give the offense a two-tight end threat it hadn’t seen since the Olsen and Jeremy Shockey days of 2011. But after Dickson went the first three games without a catch, he then had to take on more blocking responsibilities when fullback Mike Tolbert was lost for two months.Through 12 games, Dickson had just six receptions for 56 yards on 12 targets. But after Tolbert returned, Dickson became more involved as a receiver. He was targeted six times in the final four regular-season games, catching four passes for 61 yards with his only touchdown of the year. In the postseason, he added three receptions and 67 yards.When asked if, before he re-signed, the Panthers assured he’d be more active in the passing game next season, Dickson claimed: “I didn’t have to have those assurances from anybody because they expressed that at the end of the season.””I’m going to continue to get open, and they’re going see that. I’m not going to go in there and say, ‘Do this and do that.’ I’m going to accept the program. I’m going to accept the direction we’re going, and if that’s getting me involved, that’s getting me involved.”Dickson’s deal was the 12th the Panthers wrapped up before Tuesday’s start of free agency. Including Olsen’s extension, 10 of those deals were for guys already in-house. While many fans are eager for the team to get more outside help, this offseason’s plan is being built from the inside.”They believe in keeping their own, and they believe in the guys that battled for them last year,” Dickson said. “It’s driven in this league to be all business, but when you can find coaches and staff that believe in certain guys and not just want to change it every year, that’s when you can get great things out of your team.””When you start something you want to see it finished, and that’s one thing that drove me to come back this year. We started a great thing here last year. We got to the second round of the playoffs, I feel like we can get to the top of the mountain.”