The Panthers still have a ton of needs at key positions. We take a look at potential signings they could make in the 3rd wave of free agency.
The Panthers were surprisingly active in the first and second waves of free agency, signing several offensive lineman, trading for WR Diontae Johnson, and several defensive lineman and defensive backs. Their most recent signing, EDGE Jadeveon Clowney, showed the Panthers aren’t quite done in free agency, and could make a few more moves with plenty of cap space in 2025 and 2026 to make some signings happen for this season. Let’s dive in.
Skill Positions
There’s still a ton of wide receiver talent unsigned in free agency. A few names to note are WRs Hunter Renfrow, Allen Robinson, Odell Beckham Jr, Michael Gallup, and Tyler Boyd. All come with their share of performance inconsistency and question marks, however at the moment the Panthers only proven commodities at WR are Diontae Johnson whom they just acquired, and 2023 acquisition Adam Thielen. While I personally expect Carolina to add to the WR room via the draft, there’s certainly room for more veteran talents, as the next guys on the chopping block are 2023 2nd round pick Jonathan Mingo, former 2nd round pick Terrrace Marshall, and a bevy of depth pieces. Adding someone like Gallup or Beckham could add a bit of explosion to a receiver corp that severely needed it in 2023.
The tight end group is significantly less intriguing, as the current top options on the market are CJ Uzomah and Logan Thomas. Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis find themselves way further down the list in PFF’s ranking of all available free agents, so my current expectation is to ride with what they have in Tommy Tremble, Ian Thomas, and Stephen Sullivan going into the draft. As far as RBs go, aside from signing a guy like Ezekiel Elliott, I think the RB room is mostly set ahead of the draft.
Defense
Most of the higher end talent is gone as of this point, as the Panthers locked down the last upper tier guy in Clowney at EDGE. Still, Emmanuel Ohbah, Carl Lawson, Randy Gregory, and Yannick Ngakoue remain out there as edge defenders they could sign, whether or not they fit Ejiro Evero’s defense remains to be seen. Still, the Panthers could use as many edge rushers as they can, even as depth. I don’t think Carolina will pursue any of the top guys remaining, but it COULD happen, as their depth behind Clowney, DJ Wonnum, and K’Lavon Chaisson isn’t great. And that starting group isn’t exactly amazing either.
At linebacker, the pickings are slim. Isaiah Simmons is an intriguing name here, however Evero couldn’t really fit Jeremy Chinn into his scheme, and the skillset there is quite similar. With the defensive backfield, there’s a lot more options for high end depth. CBs J.C. Jackson, Xavien Howard, Adoree Jackson, Cam Sutton, and Stephon Gilmore round out your top five. Supposedly, the Panthers have reached out to Gilmore for a reunion, potentially helped by signing his former college teammate Clowney.
Safety continues to be a position where players are having to settle for below market contracts, an epidemic in the last few seasons of free agency. Jamal Adams, Justin Simmons, Eddie Jackson, and Quandre Diggs were all at one point considered top of their position in the NFL, and yet they all remained unsigned. The Panthers signed a ton of safeties early in free agency, but capitalizing on an undervalued market might behoove them if the price is right.
In other words, there’s still talent to be had for the Carolina Panthers. Who would you like to see them sign?
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