Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! This is your space to ask questions, and discuss any topic you’d like. We’re powering right into the free agency period next week, and its dream time across the NFL. Let’s jump right into all your questions!
Chef: Give me your under the radar FA that you’d love to see us pick up as well as your big name guy that you don’t want to see in Carolina…
My guy that just dawned on me last week would actually be
former Tampa Bay RB Rachaad White. Now, he’s certainly not the most effective rusher, but in his last season with Dave Canales in TB, he was targeted 70 times for 64 receptions, 549 yards, and 3 TDs for 8.6 yards per reception, most of which were career highs as a receiver. The Panthers clearly work throws to the running backs into the offense under this regime, and I think he’d be a sneaky good running back signing that would not impede them from playing Jonathon Brooks or Trevor Etienne either. He’d be a very complimentary piece that Canales and Brad Idzik have a ton of familiarity with from their Tampa Bay days, and I would not expect him to be expensive. He wasn’t super productive last season even while Bucky Irving was out much of the year.
Let’s stick with the Tampa Bay theme on this one, I wouldn’t necessarily like them bringing in WR Mike Evans, even if he would improve the WR group. I think Tetairoa McMillan occupies that role, and Jalen Coker can do the same if something happens to T Mac. The Panthers haven’t been linked to Evans much, and I figure he’d go to a Super Bowl contender, but the connection with the Panthers head coach and offensive coordinator is certainly there.
positivebob: I know Morgan sounds like he’s going to let guys test FA, but who are some guys he should try to resign before risking losing them? I would try to keep Mays, Martin, and Rozeboom, maybe Nijman and BC.
I think you try to bring back Cade Mays and/or Brady Christensen for sure if you can. Both are starter caliber centers for this team, but Mays may be expensive to bring back and should attract a decent market. Yosh Nijman also makes a lot of sense to bring back as the starter while Ikem Ekwonu is injured, but the Panthers may opt to bring in someone with a more future-thinking focus than just to fill in for Ekwonu while he’s out. I also think you bring Nick Scott back, since he was a 17 game starter at safety.
DBelt: How much should the Panthers pay Nick Scott to come back? Who should they cut to free up enough cap space for him?
I’d say just cut Tre’Von Moehrig and give Nick Scott a similar contract. Lathan Ransom is ready! (winky face)
Panthers75: How much cap space is there? Actually? Over the cap had the team at 10 million with 14 million in dead money. I know that guys will get cut and that will change but I’ve seen some wildly different figures
D.A. Sweat did a beautiful job of breaking down the Panthers current cap situation. I encourage you to check it out.
Soutelo: Will the Panthers be in the running for the following FA’s? If you could have two, who would you prioritize? Rasheed Walker, Braxton Jones, Devin Lloyd, Devin Bush, Odafe Oweh, Boye Mafe, Alec Pierce, Romeo Doubs.
Devin Lloyd is someone they absolutely should push to bring in, while Devin Bush could be the consolation prize if a situation similar to the Patriots signing Milton Williams were to happen again. I also like Romeo Doubs as the veteran guy with a skillset that should add to the wide receiver room. None of the names you gave should be cheap.
Old Dominion Panther: Hey, Brian! I haven’t posted on here in a while. What are your thoughts on Joe Person’s latest report out of the Combine? Specifically, that DM and company are spending a lot of time accessing the O-Line and even name-dropping Kadyn Proctor as an option at pick 19? Of course, there has to be some truth to it with Ickey’s injury, Moton’s age, and all of the impending free agents. But, do you think that this could possibly be a smokescreen scenario, like with Jalon Walker last year? Or, is it more probable that it’s a pidgeonhole scenario, like with XL a couple of years ago? Cheers!
I think the Panthers truly are doing their due diligence on every position of potential need, and part of that has to do with picking at 19 in the first round. There’s no real way to predict how the 18 picks before them will shake out and who would be available that will make sense. They need to draft another starting tackle eventually, and Ekwonu’s injury may have sped up that timeline since the guy would likely step in right away. But I don’t think the Panthers are locked on any one player or position at this point.
Padrino: Chewy bacon or crispy bacon? Im a chewy bacon person.
Depends on the size and thickness of the slice. I’m a big fan of a huge chewy slice of bacon. But your average, smaller strip of bacon, crunchy is definitely my preference. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer with bacon though.
dayneb12: A lot of people have been talking about Devin Lloyd to the Panthers, but what I’ve read about him is that he had his best success in a 4-3 defense. Should the Panthers avoid someone who may not be a good fit for the defensive scheme?
I don’t think its an issue of 4-3 vs 3-4 as much as simply playing a guy in the right spot. Every defensive scheme is different despite what base shell defense they play. Its more of whether the Panthers think he’d succeed as the Mike linebacker in their scheme or the Will linebacker. I think he’d do just fine at either one. He’ll be fine, I wouldn’t overthink the scheme thing.
carolinajerry: Coker is an ERFA and can be kept for about $1M. Do you think the Panthers even consider extending him now or is this a clear “just tender him and revisit later” situation? What would you extend him for?
The Panthers went ahead and tendered Jalen Coker the exclusive rights tag, so that all tracks. I think they should consider extending him sooner than later, but this isn’t something they have to figure out prior to free agency. They are more than able to sign him to an extension once free agency and the Draft have shaken out. It would likely be prudent to do so if they expect him to continue producing. Wide Receiver contracts are only going to get more expensive. But, that also doesn’t mean Coker (or more likely, his agent) will accept a lower value deal right now. It’ll be interesting, but we may not hear about this at all in 2026.
carolinajerry: If the Panthers want to open up cap space this offseason, whose contracts make the most sense to restructure or extend? And where’s the line where you start pushing too much cap into the future, particularly if Bryce is on track for a big deal?
I’d say all 4 of their top names make sense to restructure, though I would hope they don’t do it with all of them. Derrick Brown, Robert Hunt, Jaycee Horn, and Tre’Von Moehrig are all foundational players when healthy, and could free up a ton of space. I think the line would be restructuring any more than 3 of their top 7 in salary cap allocations, regardless of how you feel about Bryce Young. I don’t think blasting a bunch of money in this year’s free agency period will magically get Carolina into the NFC Championship conversation, they need to really nail the draft and be smart (but aggressive) in free agency to continue building a team with longer term viability. But that’s just my two cents, let me know if you agree in the comments.
Join us next week for another edition of the weekly Panthers fan mailbag!
