For a team with a locker room full of young adults who act more like kids, the word 'old' has been tossed around surprisingly often so far in Spartanburg.

It started Friday when the biggest kid, quarterback Cam Newton, jokingly wondered if he and linebacker Thomas Davis are going through a midlife crisis.

"[Davis] said I was too old to be blonding my beard. I said he was too old to have a Mohawk," the 27-year-old Newton quipped.

Davis's chance to defend himself came Sunday.

"I’ve gotten compliments. I really don’t care what Cam thinks about it," he said. "So I’m going to continue to rock my Mohawk. I think it keeps me young. A lot of people don’t really know how old I am."

Well, if you were born in 1983 and it's 2016, that means ...

"33? Dang. Am I that old? No, I'm that young," Davis said.

"I feel good. I'm having fun playing this game. I keep getting that question about, 'How long do you think you're going to play?' or, 'How long do you want to play?' I want to play as long as I can."

Which is much different from the answer Carolina's 31-year-old center said a few minutes earlier.

"I'm definitely closer to the end than the beginning," admitted Ryan Kalil, echoing what he said in June after he signed a 2-year extension.

"I don’t see myself being a 15-, 16-year vet. This stuff is already hard as it is. I’m just trying to get through this year. Let’s just leave it at that."

If Kalil gets through the life of his revamped deal, he'll be a 12-year vet with a decision to make. He's not yet ready to say he's signed his last NFL contract, but with a post-football career in Hollywood already taking shape, there's a good chance 2018 will be his final season.

As difficult as post-Kalil life may be to imagine for the organization and its fans, that era is still at least three years away. That leaves a lot of time to finish the climb from 2-14.

"Being able to stay somewhere and help rebuild and get out of dark times and be a part of the good times and continue to fight and get to that big goal — I think there's something exciting about that," Kalil said. "It means a lot to me. I can't see myself playing anywhere else."

Davis, of course, feels the same way about himself. The difference is he doesn't see the finish line as clearly as Kalil. And because Davis is seemingly getting better with age, that's understandable. But Father Time never stops ticking, even for a guy who believes years spent recovering from three ACL tears actually extended his career.

Davis got his own 2-year extension last summer, which puts him under contract for this and next season. If he's somehow still playing at a Pro Bowl level by then, the Panthers would gladly work on another deal. If he's not, well, that's not anything to worry about at the moment.

"I think I'll know when I can't keep up with all these younger guys that they keep bringing in," Davis said. "When I can't stay in the same category and the same group as those guys, that's when I know that it's time.

"But as of right now, I feel good. My body feels good. I'm going out and competing at the highest level, and I'm having a whole lot of fun doing it. When the desire and the love is not there and I can't do it anymore, I'll know."