Whoooooooo boy, that was fun wasn’t it? The Panthers basically turned 2017 into the Carolina Panthers reunion tour, bringing back some faces from the past and re-signing a lot of key contributors. It all started with Dave Gettleman bringing Sunshine back to the Carolinas (;P), let’s get a quick recap of the action.
- DT Kawann Short gets franchise tag. 1 year, 13,468,000 when signed.
- DE Wes Horton signs 2 year contract. 2.7 million, 425k guaranteed.
- DE Mario Addison signs 3 year contract. 22.5 million, 11.5 guaranteed.
- S Colin Jones signs 2 year contract. 2.4 million, 400k guaranteed
- Ya Boi Brenton Bersin (WR) signs 1 year deal. Terms unknown at time of writing, probably a bargain for DA GOAT :P
- RB Fozzy Whittaker signs 2 year contract. 2.5 million, 500k guaranteed.
- DE Charles Johnson signs a 2 year contract. 8 million, 2.5 guaranteed.
- OT Matt Kalil signs 5 year contract. 55.5 million, 25 million guaranteed.
- WR Russel Shepard signs 3 year contract. Terms unknown at time of writing.
- WR Charles Johnson signs 1 year contract. 2.2 million, guaranteed money unknown at time of writing.
- S Mike Adams signs 2 year contract. Terms unknown at time of writing.
- DE Julius Peppers signs 1 year contract. Worth 3.5 million, guaranteed money unknown at time of writing.
- CB Captain Munnerlyn signs 4 year contract. 21 million, 6 million signing bonus, 10.5 guaranteed.
- Panthers trade Kony Ealy and a 2017 3rd round pick to New England Patriots for their 2nd round pick in 2017.
I for one can’t say I would have ever expected that kind of activity from the team this early into free agency. Guess the rumors that Jerry Richardson urged Dave Gettleman to spend a bit were true. So to analyze the moves, I would say that adding Peppers, Adams, and Munnerlyn puts the Panthers in great position with the draft. Munnerlyn was an especially big add as he made his money in the NFL as a high level nickel corner and that was arguably their biggest need on defense. They don’t necessarily HAVE to add pieces so they can afford to draft the best players available on defense. They are in good position to take a pass rusher or safety high if they want, and adding that second round pick from the Kony Ealy trade could give them more ammunition to either trade up in the 1st or trade back into it towards the end of the round.
Speaking of the Ealy trade, I’m still scratching my head about it. I don’t quite understand why you’d jettison a former second round pick on a contract year, but I guess if you don’t intend to re-sign him it makes sense. The Panthers can also draft a pass rusher and know he will see the field instead of get lost in an already deep rotation.
On offense, they added some youth and speed to the skill positions. The Vikings were high on Charles Johnson a few years back and the Panthers got him cheap. Russel Shepard seems like a high character guy who can also contribute on special teams. Adding Matt Kalil was expensive, but if you look at pretty much all the OT signings none of them were what I’d consider “bargains”.
What’s next
The Panthers will probably still sniff around the market for backup options at tackle, and they’ve long been looking for a nice compliment to Greg Olsen at TE. That said, they may wait for the draft to find it. They could still use some more veteran depth at cornerback, because at the moment the drop off from their three starters is pretty drastic. They could also look to add another man at running back, and a wide receiver signing is probably coming.
Overall, I’m happy so far. Mike Adams was a more under the radar signing but he could contribute in a big way as a co-starter with Tre Boston. He adds a third veteran presence to the secondary and produced turnovers with the Colts despite his age. Matt Kalil is somebody I will wait and see on, but I think the Panthers are putting faith in that Oher will return. We know Oher can play left tackle if Kalil doesn’t work out there. At this juncture, they should just be looking for depth across the board in free agency.
What do you think, Panthers fans?