Free Agency: The Panthers bring back K Eddy Pineiro on 2 year deal, trade Zane Gonzalez

The Panthers have made their decision at the kicker position

While it was originally reported that the Panthers would retain Zane Gonzalez as their kicker, that turned out to be false as of Thursday night.

Pineiro had to step in for the Panthers late in the offseason of 2022 following an injury to Zane Gonzalez, who was coming off a heck of a year in 2021 as the Panthers kicker. Pineiro made 33 of 35 field goals and 30 of 32 PATs in 2022, a performance that put him in the top 3 in most categories as a kicker in the NFL. Originally, it sounded like the Panthers would stick with Zane Gonzalez despite his injury, however now we know they’ll ride with Pineiro. Zane Gonzalez will count for 625k against the cap in 2023, while Pineiro’s contract details have not yet been disclosed. Regardless, save for a couple of misses here and there, the Panthers have retained a kicker who got hot towards the end of 2022, having made 19 straight field goals to end the season.

Sound off in the comments, Panthers fans!

Update

The Panthers reportedly were going to release Gonzalez. However, pending a physical, he will be traded via a swap of late round picks to the San Francisco 49ers.