DaveThePanther2008

I think we should just play the waiting game and see who is released.  There are going to be some good WRs released.  I am reluctant to give up any draft picks though a 5th rounder isn't too bad. 

Colts, Panthers urged to make WR swap trade to impact Daniel Jones, Bryce Young

Would definitely help our WR room.  Not sure if we want to take on the 20m salary.  Plus if they are desperate for cap relief, they might end up cutting him.  

His speed is undeniable but he seems to be a cancer in the locker room and I am not sure we'd want something like that.  He would definitely be a piece we are missing in the WR room.

21 hours ago, Cam's New Arm said:

They tried. KB and FunFun were thoroughbreds. KB took over that national championship game with Jameis at QB. Up until spring training of 2015, KB was him. He wasn't Steve Smith, but he was who we drafted him to be. And then, he hate the guy he was supposed to be.

Gettleman was relying on a rookie.  KB had talent but he didn't have the work ethic.  He ballooned his way right out of the league because he didn't take care of himself.   Funchess was never EVER going to be that guy.  if you let your all world WR go you have to bring someone in that could have replaced him TALENT wise. 

Whether it was Smitty or Cam, Gettleman should have kept Smitty on the roster and play out his contract. I think the 2015 team with Smitty on it would have probably gone undefeated and we would have won our 2nd Super Bowl visit. 

Worse than letting him go was he never address bringing in a Stud veteran WR. 

21 minutes ago, strato said:

But I really have missed having good LB play. That is my guilty pleasure pick all day.

This IMO should be our #1 pick. Every time we have had a STUD at ILB we've gone to the NFC Championship or the Super Bowl.  Mills, Morgan and Luke.  

My only concern is that EVero, for whatever reason, doesn't like starting rookies.  I would hope that a 1st round defender would start. 

This would be nice.  It addresses most of our needs.  I think we will add Free Agents in each of the top three picks to allow these players the chance to get used to the NFL.  

It's a shame he wasn't first ballot.  There have been several great LBs to play this game but I don't believe there was anyone like Luke.  His ability to diagnose plays before they happened was very unique to him. Almost every year when they posted the top 100 it was one thing every player said about him.

Great Honor for LLLUUUUUKKKKKEEEE

He's set to be a free agent. ESPN believes he'll get a 50 million dollar deal.  I don't think we'll be in the market for his services, though I wish we were.

It will be interesting to see who gambles on him. 

4 hours ago, HeelsPanthersCanes said:

No. Morgan, Canales, and staff are not capable of reclamation projects.

Get a guy in here who knows how to play the position at a high level.  We'd be the division favorites, and capable of competing with anyone in the playoffs.

Also, have to hit on first and second round picks, which we haven't done historically. Hopefully this is where we get our ILB and LT from.  

I think you forget that Canales is what made Geno a commodity in Seattle in the first place.  While I am not a great fan of Geno, I wouldn't be surprised to see him back up Young.

I would prefer Sam Howell because I believe he has the best opportunity to become a starter of all the free agents out there minus Cousins. 

Is dumb bunny show over yet?

50 minutes ago, Aussie Tank said:

Get the man some proper off ball linebackers and someone to get after the QB on 3rd downs and see what he can do 

We have a little over a month to go before free agency starts.  I expect Morgan to address every position of need in Free Agency and get young depth in the draft.  I believe that we will land one or two impact players in Free Agency.

It has been said that Evero does not like to play rookies very much.  So if we draft a rookie LB or Edge he is probably not going to get much playing time.    

10 minutes ago, strato said:

Rooney. They were never going to hire a DC there with that number one pick. We gotta figure a way to get him a HC job somewhere. 

Sadly IMO he's done for 2026.  

Looks like Evero is not going anywhere.  The Raiders have narrowed down their search to two offensive coordinators.

I expect us to be very active in Free Agency and will address most of our positions of need there.  Doing so gives us the opportunity to draft BPA.  I do believe we will be in the position to get a solid ILB at 19. 

4 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

This ^

He's excellent and he's a great cornerstone for the defense. He produced those stats for us when opposing QBs tried to avoid throwing to Horn. Renegotiate the contract, adding an extra year and $8 million additional each time. Seems expensive, but he's more than worth that.

Locking him down for a couple of years takes care of the back end of our defense as the front line solidifies and we work on the linebacking situation. 

 

This would be my take.  If we could extend him through 27 or 28 it would help us a lot.  I would also like to see more of Thorton.  I know he's on IR but he has such a good training camp I can only believe he's only going to get better. 

Just now, Jmac said:

Guy has been giving his all with 5 different franchises and has been kicked to the curb again and again.  He never talks down about his previous teams or players. Seems like an upstanding dude who has earned his chance. Happy that between Mayfield and him, he gets to go and try for a ring. 

We really didn't give him much of a chance. Our entire team was in shambles, and he didn't have much help here.  He balled out against LA and he's proven he can win big games. We gave up on him way too soon.

Good luck to him.

Just now, mrcompletely11 said:

Should have taken the points

I am so happy the egotistic Payton tried to go for it on 4th and 1 when they had a chance to go up 10 zip. 

I'd like to see us get an edge and an ILB through free agency and address our other needs through the draft. 

Addressing Edge through the draft will put us most likely having 2 or 3 years before that player makes an impact. We already have two of those players on the team.

ILB we really need experience and a stud.  Having a rookie be the man in the middle would be tough.  Even Luke had a rough start in his rookie season.

There are several other edge rushers available in Free Agency but I think the two players that could make a difference are Crosby and Hendrickson.  Crosby isn't a Free Agent and would required a pretty hefty price tag including several picks.  One site I saw said #19 a 2027 2nd round and some other picks.  IMO that's too expensive.  

Hendrickson is a Free Agent and maybe due to his age and recent injury he might not command the 25 million but that's only an opinion.  

So, our choices are Trade for Crosby (Not a good move) Hendrickson and pay big bucks, Draft an Edge (our 3 one in 2 drafts), or Find a 2nd tier Free Agent.  The way Morgan operates I believe we will address every position of need through free agency and go BPA at 19. 

3 minutes ago, CarolinaRideorDie said:

I'm staring to do research on the off ball linebacker class this year because I think we need a captain of the defense like the Luke days. Sonny Styles, Anthony Hill, CJ Allen are some names to keep an eye on. These guys seem to have the same traits of being instinctive, playmakers, and solid tacklers like Luke. 

This is what I have been saying.  We need that QB for the defense.  Someone who can diagnose the offense before the ball is snapped.  Luke was one of a kind but having a stud QB on defense in the middle will improve our defense greatly.  

I was watching the game last night (actually 330am) and they brought up that Aiden Fisher calls out the plays the other team is running.  This of course reminded me of Luke.  I haven't followed Indiana football at all but I wonder that the Huddle thinks of him as a future Panther Linebacker

Aiden Fisher's pro prospects are promising, with a strong track record of performance and potential for success in the NFL. His ability to read the game and make plays with precision, combined with his leadership and physicality, make him a valuable asset to any defense. Fisher's development at Indiana and his selection as a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker in 2024 further solidify his status as a top prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft

Thoughts?

36 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I'm curious to know if McDermott was sacrificed to save Beane's skin. The one thing that may be the case is that Allen may just not be one of those QB's that is capable of hitting that next level. If so, Beane is probably doomed in the long run, as well.

Seeing the comments that Beane was kissing butt to ownership this would not surprise me.  Beane started out well but IMO he's really putting the Bills in the same boat he and Gettleman put Cam.  Their decisions really had an impact on Cam's future.  

You have a generational QB and can't get over the hump and IMO it was lack of talent and not lack of on field leadership. 

4 hours ago, hepcat said:

Stats back up he was the best corner on the team easily. Passed Horn by a mile this year. WAY better tackler. 

And we stole him from Seattle for a draft pick that didn't even make the team.

7 hours ago, HardcoreHokie said:

Ben Johnson was HORRIBLE in the 2nd half.  The previous drive they had 1st and goal from the 5 and came away with nothing.

Run on 1st, 2nd, 3rd…for 4 yards.  Then forced to throw.  HORRIBLE.

When Caleb threw that Hail Mary I thought he saved the criticism from Johnson.  But the final drive was just as bad.  You can’t let your young gunslinger QB throw that deep pass when you only need a few yards.

Johnson has an ego problem and it bit him in the ass.  You take the points on those drives and you in a position to win the game. 

i was glad to see them drop out of the playoffs.  Caleb has saved his ass so many times this past season it isn't even funny.