this year’s OL free-agent class boasts some major talent

[BlitzMonster]

The article is written for the Bengals but I would happily take any one of these guys for the Panthers.   Here are the top 11 OL in free agency: 

article

[KSpan]

[BlitzMonster]

Just give me one good free agent OL.  Somebody who's an instant starter and will fit well with Campen's new OL scheme.  Preferably an interior lineman since that is where the Panthers had so much trouble.   Also those guys are not as expensive compared to Tackles.  In any case one free agent OL won't break the Panther's salary cap.  

 

[Jesse]

It just fuging sucks that we could've had some solid offensive linemen this past draft. Yeah I know that shoulda coulda woulda, but the fact is that we've neglected our offensive line for the past 6 years. Lets get maybe 1 in free agency and actually draft some studs.

[Carolina Cajun]

5 minutes ago, Jesse said:

It just fuging sucks that we could've had some solid offensive linemen this past draft. Yeah I know that shoulda coulda woulda, but the fact is that we've neglected our offensive line for the past 6 years. Lets get maybe 1 in free agency and actually draft some studs.

nah, coach has an eagle eye for talent, slater was only a guard, def not worth our early pick.

[davos]

Would love a lot of those mentioned (especially Glowinski). But we’re likely looking at guys like Bozeman, Karras, Ben Jones. That next tier that may have avg annuals under the $10 mil mark.

Maybe Norwell. He seemed to brush off his 2020 down year and was one of the rare bright spots in JAX

[bythenbrs]

Give me Corbett or Connor Williams.  Trade back from 1.6 to mid teens, pick-up a second.  Draft Linderbaum in first, Kenyon Green in the second.  Your starting line up next year would be very young, but a great foundation for many years to come.

LT - Brady Christenson

LG - Corbett or Williams

C - Linderbaum

RG - Elflein, Green or Brown

RT - Moton

[PanthersGTI]

43 minutes ago, BlitzMonster said:

Just give me one good free agent OL.  Somebody who's an instant starter and will fit well with Campen's new OL scheme.  Preferably an interior lineman since that is where the Panthers had so much trouble.   Also those guys are not as expensive compared to Tackles.  In any case one free agent OL won't break the Panther's salary cap.  

 

Yup that is a good scenario, Imagine getting a GOOD starting center. Things could fall into place nicely from that point. 

[rayzor]

They should be top priority but we'll be stuck with scraps. We definitely won't be first or second choice for most and an act of desperation for those who aren't the top FAs.

[Ricky Spanish]

One thing we need to consider is whether or not we are at the top of the list of destinations for any of these guys. There are quite a few OL needy teams in better locations/situations than us. 

Would you rather play in Charlotte or Miami? If you are chasing a ring, would you want to sign with this lame duck coaching staff, or help out the defending AFC champions get back to the ship? Is money all you're after? Well we can pay you an average amount but Jacksonville can pay you more. 

We don't have the cap space, the locale, or the coaching staff to bring in the best and brightest in FA this season and it's a damn shame. Whoever our QB is next year is going to get demolished for sure if we don't draft any linemen again. 

[Jon Snow]

6 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

One thing we need to consider is whether or not we are at the top of the list of destinations for any of these guys. There are quite a few OL needy teams in better locations/situations than us. 

Would you rather play in Charlotte or Miami? If you are chasing a ring, would you want to sign with this lame duck coaching staff, or help out the defending AFC champions get back to the ship? Is money all you're after? Well we can pay you an average amount but Jacksonville can pay you more. 

We don't have the cap space, the locale, or the coaching staff to bring in the best and brightest in FA this season and it's a damn shame. Whoever our QB is next year is going to get demolished for sure if we don't draft any linemen again. 

The only way any of those guys consider signing here is if they drastically overpay them. 

[BrianS]

Our available cap next year is 17 million.  17th in the league.  We cannot compete for the top guys financially.  And there isn't really a lot we can do. 

Frankly, we shouldn't try.  We've been kicking the can down the road with these voidable years and crap.  We need to take our lumps next year.  Clean house after 2022, since apparently Rhule get to stay this year.  Give the new guy a full slate of draft picks and a relatively untarnished cap to work with.

It doesn't help us this year, but we have to do it.

[Mr. Scot]

I'll grant that there are some good free agent linemen out there, but I'm not so sure it's a very deep class.

Once the top one or two are gone at each spot (and some may never hit free agency at all) it's kinda underwhelming.

For whatever talent is out there though, I have two questions:

1. Can we recognize it?

To me, the answer to this depends on whether Rhule listens to James Campen. I'm hoping Campen tells him, "You know, versatility isn't necessarily needed in starters".

2. Can we acquire them?

THis is the tougher question. It's up to Fitterer to find the answer here. OL talent is likely to be at a premium this year, and we don't have a huge amount of space. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[BlitzMonster]

31 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

The only way any of those guys consider signing here is if they drastically overpay them. 

Campen is a well respected OL coach.  Some FA may be specifically interested in playing for him. 

If the contract offered is similar to other teams, having a boss that you enjoy working with makes all the difference.