It was always going to take time. 

Guard Damien Lewis, one of the Carolina Panthers' key free-agent additions of the summer, knows that.  

On Tuesday, after returning to practice alongside other offensive linemen in center Austin Corbett and right guard Robert Hunt, Lewis gave his take on where and what the Panthers are building toward. 

"Well, you know, they ain't built Rome overnight, but it's a process, it's just a process every week," Lewis said, via the Panthers' official website. "We're going to keep coming in here and just keep grinding, keep pounding, stacking blocks until we get it right. But it's there, I'm telling you, I'm excited for the season."

As for the specifics, it is quite simple. 

"Mindset and attitude, you've got to have that mindset, that warrior mentality," he said. "Mean, tough, and nasty. I feel like I told you, I'm mean, Austin's tough, and Rob's nasty, and we bring it all."

Lewis was part of the Panthers' push to add help around second-year quarterback Bryce Young. 

The big guard signed with the Panthers on a four-year, $53 million deal, joining Hunt, who inked a five-year, $100 million contract. 

Carolina merely needs Lewis to live up to his handsome payday when the regular season starts.