The “legal tampering period” before free agency opens today. That is to say that between now and the start of free agency on Wednesday, NFL teams will have the opportunity to leak all of the illegal tampering that they have been engaged in for weeks. Priorities for this offseason were clear (bolster the defense!) right up until Ickey Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in January’s wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Now they are back to having pressing needs on both sides of the ball.
Linebacker
The Carolina
Panthers made massive improvements in their defensive metrics in 2025 compared to 2024, but they were still unbelievably soft against the run. The return of Derrick Brown could only do so much.
The surprise loss of Josey Jewell last offseason really turned over the Panthers plans at linebacker and it quickly became apparent that the pairing of Trevin Wallace and Christian Roseboom were a liability. Despite their improvement down the stretch of the season, upgrades at linebacker are still expected to be a priority for Dan Morgan this year.
For all that edge help is also high on the Panthers wishlist, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them sign a higher tier free agent at inside linebacker before shopping in the bargain bin for another pass rusher.
Edge
Second year players Nic Scourton (a revelation) and Princely Umanmielen (a bit of a mystery) form a strong, young core of edge rushers, but they are more a hope for the future than a delivered promise right now. Patrick Jones II looks to be the closest thing to a veteran presence on the team right now and that isn’t good enough.
Scourton and Umanmielen would benefit from a strong veteran to learn from and the team as a whole would take a big step forward if they were able to find consistent pressure from their edge defenders.
Offensive line
With Ickey likely to miss most, if not all, of 2026 and center Cade Mays testing the free agency waters, the Panthers have two positions of flux in Bryce Young’s protection. Young needs a stable pocket to find success, especially in the first quarter.
One, if not both, of these positions need to get locked down this week if the Panthers want to keep the hopes of a wild card repeat alive.
