BREAKING!!! Panthers signing Packers LT Rasheed Walker

[ForJimmy]

37 minutes ago, Move the Panthers to Raleigh said:

The term “project player” should be banned speech in the war room in the draft. So sick of that poo. 
 

We need proven skills 

Project players are for the later rounds. These are the ones that are nice to gamble on. Not a first round pick like XL…

[csx]

4 hours ago, Move the Panthers to Raleigh said:

The term “project player” should be banned speech in the war room in the draft. So sick of that poo. 
 

We need proven skills 

Past round 1 or 2 they are all project players 

[Stuart Smith]

On 3/14/2026 at 4:47 PM, frankw said:

The OL has certainly been better than the trainwreck it was three or four years ago.

As far as competitiveness let's apply some realism and clarity here. Quite a bit of the competitiveness in 2025 came from the defensive side of the ball which gave up the most points in league history the year before and was one of the bottom 5 units in terms of salary cap allocation for 2025 while the OL was top 3.

We had the 26th passing offense last year. And if not for a herculean couple of games from Rico Dowdle we don't back our way into the division title or make the playoffs because we went 4-6 in our final ten games including being swept by the Saints who were starting a rookie 2nd round pick most of us mercilessly mocked when they selected him.

In conclusion yes we've seen a difference. The question now is will the investment pay off the way we want. But the only way that happens is if we field a top 15 offense. If we can't even crack the top 20 then there need to be some very warm seats across the board. And I would hope just about anyone here should agree with that.

The reality is the kicker performed beyond expectations for a rookie and made the panthers winners in games that could have easily been losses. The panthers tougher schedule will tell us where we are. 

[MHS831]

THE WALKER BACKGROUND

Here is where this gets weird.  Walker is a serviceable LT who could benefit from Gilbert's experience and coaching.  However, he is known for below-average run blocking and frequent penalties.  As you know, a penalty from a LT is a drive killer. A former 7th round pick, Walker has outperformed expectations, but he still ranks around the middle of the pack when compared to other tackles.  Having said that, it seems as if the Panthers are banking on Walker for a year and will then make a decision on Ickey. 

In Green Bay, Walker was the starter, but the Packers weren't exactly sold on him. While most people think the oft-injured David Bakhtiari retired in 2023, he really wanted to keep playing.  He was released on March, 11, 2024.  Walker stepped in and took the reserve LT job from Nijman in that 2023 season, but they were close--probably because Nijman was more of a swing OT.  However, Nijman was a free agent in 2024, so the Panthers signed him just a week after Bakhtiari was released, leaving the Packers only Walker to play LT.  A month later, the Packers drafted a LT in the first round, Jordan Morgan out of Arizona.  Most Packer fans believe that Morgan would have beat out Walker for the LT job in 2024, but he had some shoulder injuries and went to IR after 6 games. In 2025, when the Packers had an injury at G during the season, instead of putting Morgan in at LT for Walker as planned, they played Morgan to guard because Walker can only play 1 position.  The Packers currently project Morgan back to LT for 2026, which is probably why they did not seek to retain Walker, at least in part.

Based on this history, it is safe to say this: Walker is better than Nijman. We have the benefit of them being on the same team in a direct competition to help us see that. Walker is probably closer to Ickey, except for the penalties.  That bothers me a lot.  Bryce sucks when we get behind the sticks, and a run-first offense with a poor run-blocking LT is not ideal.  

Regardless, I think Ickey and the Panthers find themselves in limbo right now, so the Walker deal comes at a perfect time for the GM.  Gilbert, perhaps, can work on the penalties and maybe a TE like Tremble can help offset the run blocking issues, so maybe we can actually stay the course at OT.  Maybe we do not draft a LT--maybe we draft a RT to groom behind Moton.  Maybe we draft a C.  At LT, the Panthers do not want to overreact, especially if Ickey returns to form or Walker demonstrates improvement.  Depth is certainly a concern, but a solid RT can be that depth.  

I doubt the Panthers draft a LT in rounds one or maybe two.  It seems we have bigger needs at Will LB, DT, TE, and maybe S.  

Edited 6 hours ago by MHS831

[frankw]

15 hours ago, Stuart Smith said:

The reality is the kicker performed beyond expectations for a rookie and made the panthers winners in games that could have easily been losses. The panthers tougher schedule will tell us where we are. 

Well if we are being realistic doesn't what you just lined out already tell us where we are at? If the rookie UDFA kicker was the savior more often than not and we had a bottom 5 offense despite us having a #1 pick behind center who was billed predraft as a mini Payton Manning is that just going to magically change trajectory overnight with a tougher schedule added in? If we are going to repeat as division champions then it will be with the defense doing the heavy lifting. So keep adding to it.

[Basbear]

43 minutes ago, frankw said:

Well if we are being realistic doesn't what you just lined out already tell us where we are at? If the rookie UDFA kicker was the savior more often than not and we had a bottom 5 offense despite us having a #1 pick behind center who was billed predraft as a mini Payton Manning is that just going to magically change trajectory overnight with a tougher schedule added in? If we are going to repeat as division champions then it will be with the defense doing the heavy lifting. So keep adding to it.

Its criminal that the upcoming season is mainly in the tiny hands of BY. 

I still member the time I did a full turn, if you member his first off-season from that Panthers all-time worst team....... Answering questions at his first presser, he goes along the lines " I didn't do nothing, no weight room or throwing" " I needed to get away". I was fully out with him, the guy didn't even try to improve his football mind, body, strength, in the biggest joke of panther football. I could not believe it, what a leader or dare say "point guard"(lols @ NBA point guards as a ref)