Jump to content
  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

PFF's Free Agency Preview: Carolina Panthers


TheSpecialJuan

Recommended Posts

What you need to know

Despite only moderate personnel movement in the offseason, the Panthers took a large step backward in 2016 from their previous season, when they reached the Super Bowl. Similarly to 2016, the Panthers are unlikely to be very active in free agency. At this stage the Panthers main goals should be to retain their own top free agents — which they have partly already done — and develop the young group of players they have on the team and complement this core through the draft.

Salary cap room

$36,548,761 (15th in NFL; as of 3/3/2017)

Biggest needs

  • Tackle
  • Edge defender
  • Running back
  • Cornerback

Notable free agents

  • Ted Ginn Jr., WR, 72.5 overall grade in 2016
  • Charles Johnson, Edge, 81.4

Must re-sign

Charles Johnson, Edge, 81.4 overall grade in 2016

The Panthers have already re-signed or tagged their most important free agents in Mario Addison and Kawann Short. The next in line is Johnson, who might not be the solution alone, but can still very much contribute on the defensive line. Although Johnson will be 31 by the time training camp starts, he was still Carolina’s best defensive lineman against the run outside of Short. In addition, he is still able to bring pressure as he recorded 4 sacks, 9 quarterback hits and 31 quarterback hurries in 2016.

Dream splash

Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears, 77.6

It is nearly impossible for the Panthers to make a splash signing at a position of need as the free agent market lacks any superstar offensive tackles or edge rushers. Although wide receiver is not the biggest need, Jeffery could bring Carolina’s receiving corps – which at this point consists mainly of unproven young wide receivers – to a whole new level.

Top 2016 free agency prospects

Andrew Whitworth, T, Cincinnati Bengals, 91.3

One of the Panthers’ top priorities should be to provide protection to Cam Newton, as this has already cost them a Super Bowl and has not been addressed since. Even though Whitworth will turn 36 next season, he shows no signs of decline as he allowed only 14 total pressures all year, yet signing him should not be extremely expensive due to his age.

Eddie Lacy, HB, Green Bay Packers, 77.3

Jonathan Stewart turns 30 in March and he is not getting any younger. Furthermore, his yards per carry have gradually declined over the past two seasons. Although Lacy presents several question marks with his injury history and rollercoaster performance over his career, his potential could be worth the risk, especially since his history should influence his asking price.

Logan Ryan, CB, New England Patriots, 83.5

Although Carolina drafted multiple cornerbacks last year, they went through some growing pains after moving on from Josh Norman in 2016. The Panthers once again have a need at the cornerback position and while Ryan – coming off a Super Bowl victory – might not be a cheap option, he could provide much needed help both in the slot and on the perimeter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Terrible picks for targets, even our own CJ. If we sign someone like Jeffery or Whitworth, we won't have money for anyone else that will make a big enough impact. I doubt CJ is even going to be re-signed unless it is for way under what he could get elsewhere. I wouldn't pay him more than $3 mil a year, and someone else out there will probably give him twice that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Bronn said:

Terrible picks for targets, even our own CJ. If we sign someone like Jeffery or Whitworth, we won't have money for anyone else that will make a big enough impact. I doubt CJ is even going to be re-signed unless it is for way under what he could get elsewhere. I wouldn't pay him more than $3 mil a year, and someone else out there will probably give him twice that.

No player would make a bigger impact than Whitworth. Who would we miss out on by signing him? Not many impact guys period

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Toomers said:

No player would make a bigger impact than Whitworth. Who would we miss out on by signing him? Not many impact guys period

For what it would cost to get Whitworth, you could sign 2 solid rotational pass-rushing DEs (even if CJ was one of them) and a Safety.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Bronn said:

For what it would cost to get Whitworth, you could sign 2 solid rotational pass-rushing DEs (even if CJ was one of them) and a Safety.

  And who are these players? Why would we need 2 rotational DEs? We are almost certain to draft one. And what safety? Who are you going to sign that is going to make a bigger impact than going from awful to very good at LT? We have cap space to sign Whitworth and still address other areas. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • If Canales comes back and Bryce doesn’t I would probably prefer to bring in 3 guys he likes from around the league or maybe outside a top ten pick and work through them, give that a shot. Because if we win a few more games we won’t be in the running for the top rated QB prospects anyway. 
    • You mean tepper but yeah I agree about rhule   Baker is a top 3 potential qb that is play for mvp and he is doing it with a slew of injuries
    • There’s too many to reply to so I’ll just say a couple more things then I’m out: 1. It hasn’t been both ways and that’s the point. People saying stuff like “too bad Bryce Young didn’t make that tackle” is a direct result of the ridiculousness of blaming Bryce Young for literally everything. I remember one game day thread a poster unironically blamed Bryce Young for JT Sanders flipping onto his own neck and injuring himself. That post was pied. I literally just read a post blaming Bryce Young for XL dropping a ball on a would-be game winning drive last year. This past week, when Tmac bounced a ball off his hands for an interception, Bryce Young was immediately blamed in the game day thread. Alternatively, people who try to give credit to Bryce Young are immediately told that to credit Bryce Young is taking away credit from Rico Dowdle, OL, whoever, and that they shouldn’t be talking positively about Bryce Young because he doesn’t deserve any credit. 2. Yes, there have always been bad posters, the difference is that back then they were largely derided. Bryce Young’s rookie season, when many of us were simply pointing at the train wreck of the whole team and saying it was maybe a little tough to evaluate Bryce Young when he had no time to throw and slow receivers, and just saying basic stuff like “Bryce Young can physically throw the ball further than 20 yards.” There was an attempt made to limit all those opinions to a single thread, by a mod. This is like saying lunatics running the asylum is normal because there have always been lunatics in the asylum. The difference is before they were patients, now they’re in charge. 3. I know for a fact I am labeled as one of the “Bryce Stans” by many of the usual suspects, but the fact of the matter is they have no idea what my position is on Bryce Young because any attempts at nuanced discussion in the past have been so completely pointless due to never being able to get past the hyperbole. How can we have a serious conversation if you insist he is physically incapable of throwing a football 20 yards? Or if you insist that he somehow duped the Panthers into drafting him just by drinking water? Or if you insist that he should be able to succeed behind one of the worst offensive lines I’ve ever seen (rookie year, not now). And I’m not the only one, there are many who have left the huddle because of it and started a discord server, I’m just too lazy for another app.
×
×
  • Create New...