The Carolina Panthers shocked many around the NFL in making their first playoff appearance since 2017 this season. Despite a great showing at home in front of legends like Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith, and Jake Delhomme, the Panthers ultimately lost and their season has ended. After taking some time to reflect on this amazing season, we can now turn our attention toward the offseason, where Dan Morgan and Brandt Tillis begin the bulk of their work. One piece they’ll have to look at in the coming
weeks and months is players on the Panthers roster whose contracts are expiring. Let’s take a look at some notable players below.
Offense
Major unrestricted free agents on offense are mostly along the offensive line, a unit that did quite well this year considering the litany of injuries and starting lineups. Austin Corbett started several games for the Panthers at guard and center and is a good depth piece depending on the price. He has not shown the success to earn starter money in my opinion, but is a nice fallback option in case of injury. Yosh Nijman became a much bigger priority for the Panthers after Ikem Ekwonu suffered that ruptured patellar tendon against the Rams. Nijman stepped in admirably when called upon, so should definitely be back in black and blue if possible. Starting center Cade Mays and utility knife lineman Brady Christensen (coming off a major injury himself) are both unrestricted free agents as well. Both should be brought back if the price is right. Mays was a more than serviceable starting center, and Christensen can play all five spots on the line. Christensen might want to go somewhere he can start, but his free agency may be similar to last offseason where the market is cooler on him than originally thought. Rico Dowdle is also a free agent and made very clear in a post game interview that he’d like to go somewhere he would be the featured back. With the return of Jonathon Brooks and solid showing by Trevor Etienne, I expect Dowdle to be elsewhere next season.
Offensively, the Panthers also have two high priority exclusive rights free agents in wide receivers Jalen Coker and Brycen Tremayne. Coker is clearly the team’s number two wide receiver, and Tremayne is a willing and able blocker and competent pass catcher out of heavy formations. The good news is, both are exclusive rights free agents, which means they have to accept a one-year league minimum contract if offered by the team. The only other option is to sit out the whole year. I would like to see the front office try to get Coker signed long term, but having that exclusive tag as a backup option is nice.
Defense
The Panthers defense was bereft of talent overall, and they still have several starters and impact players on expiring contracts. Starting linebacker Christian Rozeboom and starting safety Nick Scott are both free agents. Rozeboom was an integral part of a weak linebacking corps and will likely be back next year. Scott may or may not; he is beloved in the locker room and much maligned by fans. Another unrestricted free agent I want the Panthers to bring back is safety Isaiah Simmons. Simmons showed a ton of flash in a short time in Carolina, including several excellent plays on kickoff coverage and a blocked punt against the Rams. Another linebacker who showed some promise was Claudin Cherelus, who is a restricted free agent. After the injury to Trevin Wallace, Cherelus did an fantastic job filling in for the remainder of the season.
Special Teams
The special teams unit will stay mostly in tact (aside from the aforementioned players that play on special teams as well like Tremayne and Cherelus). Unfortunately for the Panthers, two of the three specialists are free agents: long snapper JJ Jansen and punter Sam Martin. Jansen is a Panther for life and will continue to get contracts as long as he wants to play. As of this moment, I have not heard any rumblings about retirement, so I expect him back next season. Martin was an absolute weapon for the Panthers in the punt game, so they should absolutely do everything they can to bring him back as well. That group of Jansen, Martin, and kicker Ryan Fitzgerald work really well together, so keeping the consistency will be important.
What do you think, Panthers fans? Which player should Dan Morgan call first to get resigned to the team? Sound off in the comments!
