Panthers free agency tracker. Who’s leaving, who’s staying and who are the new players?
Free agency has arrived. While it might look a little different this year due to restrictions related to helping stop the spread of coronavirus, teams are making signings and trades just as they normally would.
The Observer will have you covered on all the Panthers’ news and notes you need to now. We’ll keep this page updated throughout free agency with news of the Panthers’ signings and free agents signing elsewhere.
What players did the Panthers sign?
Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater- 3-years, $63 million
Experience: 27 years old, five years in the NFL.
Drafted No. 32 overall by the Vikings out of Louisville in 2014, Bridgewater has played in 44 career games and started 34, including five last season (5-0) for the Saints in place of the injured Drew Brees. He’s 22-12 as a career starter. His one loss in the past two seasons was in Week 17 of 2018 against the Panthers.
Vikings DE Stephen Weatherly- 2-years, $12.5 million
Experience: 25 years old, four years in the NFL.
Over the last two years, he has totaled six sacks, 59 tackles and 17 quarterback hits. At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, Weatherly has started seven games in his career, including one last season.
Browns DB Juston Burris-2-years, $8 million
Experience: 26 years old, four years in the NFL
Burris is returning home with the signing in Carolina. He is a Raleigh native and attended NC State. The Jets originally drafted him in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He remained with the Jets until midway through the 2018 season and has been on and off the Browns roster ever since. Burris started nine games in Cleveland last year and played strong and free safety. He had two interceptions, seven passes defensed, one sack and 32 tackles in 2019.
S Tre Boston- 3-years, $18 million
Experience: 27 years old, six years in the NFL.
Re-signing Boston to a three-year deal makes a lot of sense for both sides. Boston had been signed to one-year deals with three different teams over the last three years, including a one-year, $2.1 million with the Panthers this past year and was seeking a long-term deal.
“Not a little more. It’s time. I told y’all year after year, compare Tre Boston’s stats to the top-10 paid safeties and there’s no difference,” Boston said about the salary he desired during locker room clean outs at the end of the 2019 season. “So what is stopping them from paying me the same? I’m going out there banged up just like the rest of ‘em. Numbers just like the rest of ‘em. It’s all about getting my worth … they know what I’m worth … I’ve proved it year after year after year.”
The safety is coming off a strong season with the Panthers last year, finishing with three interceptions — tied for the most on the team— 11 passes defensed and 68 tackles.
Ravens WR Seth Roberts
Roberts marks the first offensive free agent signing for the Panthers outside of Bridgewater and gives the team some depth at wide receiver. With Baltimore last year, he had 21 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Instead of being known for his speed or size, Roberts has strong blocking skills and did not have a single dropped pass during the 2019 season. However, he is coming off his least productive season in his six-year career. Roberts spent his first five season with the Raiders after they signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent.
Bengals G John Miller- 1-year, $4 million
Well, the Panthers needed help at guard and they’ve officially taken the first step in building depth on the offensive line with Trai Turner now in Los Angeles. Miller spent last year in Cincinnati and the previous four years in Buffalo after they selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft out of Louisville.
He has primarily played right guard and Miller’s college teammate from 2011-13 just so happens to have been Bridgewater. The familiarity between the two and Miller’s experience blocking for the quarterback will be helpful in an offseason that may be limited in terms of offseason training.
Saints WR Keith Kirkwood- 1-year deal
Kirkwood is reuniting with a lot of familiar faces in Carolina. He transferred from Hawaii to Temple in college, and played under Matt Rhule during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but missed most of 2015 due to injury.
The wide receiver is also familiar with offensive Joe Brady and Bridgewater. He has been with the Saints since 2018, after they signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent. He has played in nine career games with 13 receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Kirkwood spent most of the 2019 season on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
Cardinals WR Pharoh Cooper- 1-year deal
Cooper became the third wide receiver to join the Panthers in the first week of free agency, all on one-year deals. The North Carolina native was originally drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. He also spent time with the Bengals during his four-year career and was last on the Cardinals. He’s known for being kick and punt return specialist. Cooper was named to the Pro Bowl and First-Team All Pro in 2017.
Jaguars TE Seth DeValve
The Panthers have brought in their first tight end since Greg Olsen was released with DeValve. He spent last year in Jacksonville after beginning the first three years of his career in Cleveland. DeValve has played in 53 games and has 16 starts. Last year he had 12 catches for 140 yards in 12 games. He gives the team depth at the position and help on special teams.
XFL QB P.J. Walker- 2-year deal
There will be quite the competition for backup quarterback this year. The Panthers signed the first XFL player Monday morning with Walker joining the team. He was coached by Rhule at Temple and previously spent time on the Colts practice squad. Walker excelled in the XFL with the 5-0 Houston Roughnecks, leading the league and throwing for 1,338 yards, 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He was the league’s likely MVP before the rest of the season was canceled last week due to coronavirus concerns. Once Newton moves on and with the trade of Allen, Walker will join Bridgewater and Will Grier on the roster.
Raiders LB Tahir Whitehead- 1-year deal
The Panthers continued to bring in former Temple players with the signing of Whitehead, who was at the school from 2008-11 when Rhule was quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator (2008-10) before becoming offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011. He has been a very consistent player throughout his career, playing 16 in games all but one season since 2013. He has started 48 of 48 games over the last three years. Whitehead will likely fill the middle linebacker spot for the Panthers. He did not have a single sack, interception or forced fumble in 2019.
Jets WR Robby Anderson- 2-year deal, $20 million
This signing brings a big wide receiver into the fold for the Panthers, the best available in free agency this offseason. While Anderson will certainly help the Panthers, there are still a lot of holes on this team and wide receiver is one that could have been addressed in the draft. Draft analysts have labeled this one of the best classes of wide receivers in some time. It’s interesting that the Panthers chose to fill up some of the cap space from releasing Newton with an expensive wide receiver when there are so many holes on defense and at tight end and guard. But there’s no doubt he will make the offense better.
WR DeAndrew White
White became a restricted free agent last week after the Panthers let him go. He played in 10 games last year with four catches for 51 yards, in addition to assisting with kick return duties. White provides more depth at the position, however, Carolina now has 10 wide receivers on the roster.
DL Zach Kerr- 2-year deal
Kerr, 29, spent last year with the Cardinals. He played in 12 games and had 19 tackles. Originally an undrafted rookie free agent, he spent the first three years of his career with the Colts and the following two with the Broncos. Kerr has totaled 30-plus tackles once in his career and has a total of 7.5 career sacks.
The Panthers needed depth on the defensive line with the departure of Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy to Dallas. Kerr helps with that.
Who’s leaving the Panthers?
S Colin Jones, free agency: Jones requested to be released from the Panthers, per a source with knowledge of the situation, due to the Panthers rebuild. The safety was Carolina’s special teams captain the last two years and has been with the team for eight seasons.
CB James Bradberry, Giants- 3-years, $43.5 million: More than a month before free agency began, it became clear that the Panthers would be moving on from Bradberry. The team’s No. 1 corner was simply too expensive despite the performance he put on in 2019.
Edge Mario Addison, Bills- 3-years, $30.5 million: Despite early mutual interest between Addison and the Panthers, other teams became more involved in signing 32-year old once free agency began. The Panthers will be without their sack leader in 2019 (9.5) next season.
DT Vernon Butler, Bills- 2-years, $15 million: The Panthers were never really interested in bringing the former first-round pick back to Carolina, especially after the way his season ended with the defensive tackle punching a Colt and then giving the crowd his middle finger after he was ejected. He’s coming off the best season of his career with six sacks, three forced fumbles and 32 tackles. Even if the Panthers were interested two-years, about $16 million is a lot to pay for Butler.
DT Gerald McCoy, Cowboys- 3-years, $18.3 million: McCoy’s time in Carolina ended up being one and done. It was clear he wouldn’t return once December came around. Despite becoming one of the Panthers’ team captains, McCoy, 32, came to Carolina in part because of Ron Rivera. With Rivera gone, the defensive tackle wanted to sign somewhere where he could make his first career playoff appearance, and Dallas gives him that opportunity.
Edge Bruce Irvin, Seahawks: Irvin is another veteran defensive lineman that signed with the Panthers for a year, and then has been on the way out for some time. In his one year in Carolina, Irvin had 8.5 sacks, second-most on the team, and was a consistent presence on the defensive line after missing the first three games due to injury. He’ll return to Seattle where he spent the first four years of his career after the Seahawks drafted 15th overall in the 2012 draft.
S Eric Reid, free agency: The Panthers released Eric Reid after signing him to a $22 million, three-year contract extension last offseason. The strong safety was scheduled to make $8 million this season and will cost the Panthers $5 million in dead cap space, per Spotrac. They will now be without a dependale veteran presence in the secondary, but the team is going with younger, unproven players.
G Greg Van Roten, Jets: While there was interest from the Panthers in Van Roten returning, multiple teams reportedly reached out to him with offers. After trading Turner to the Chargers, Carolina was in need of help at guard, which made re-signing Van Roten a possibility. The position remains one that they need to continue to address this offseason with their two starting guards playing elsewhere.
QB Kyle Allen, Washington: Allen was traded to Washington in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick after the Panthers agreed to terms with Walker. The move gives the Panthers their eighth pick in this year’s NFL draft. Allen, 24, will reunite with most of the Panthers’ coaching staff from last year in Washington, including head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. He won the backup job over Grier and finished the season completing 62 percent of passes for 3,322 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He was sacked 46 times, the third-most by any Panthers quarterback in a single season.
DT Dontari Poe, Cowboys
Dallas seems to be making a habit of signing former Panthers defensive linemen. Poe, 29, ended the 2019 season on injured reserve and then Carolina elected not to pick up his option for 2020. He had four sacks and 22 tackles in 11 games during his second year with the Panthers. Ultimately for the Panthers rebuilding efforts it made more sense for him to move on and join a Cowboys team in a different place.
G Daryl Williams, Bills- 1-year deal
Williams played in all 16 games for the Panthers last year, starting in 12. He’s a significant loss as he is a versatile player that can fill in at guard or tackle. The Panthers’ offensive line could use some depth and over the past five years, Williams has filled in that role. He’s had up and down moments, but the Panthers could use any help they can get on the line. On the other side, the Panthers’ pipeline to the Bills continues going strong.
Which Panthers free agents still haven’t signed new deals?
CB Ross Cockrell
Experience: 28 years old, six years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 14 games, 2 INT, 8 PD, 62 tackles.
DT Kyle Love
Experience: 33 years old, 10 years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 15 games, 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QBH.
NT Stacy McGee
Experience: 29 years old, seven years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 4 games, 0.5 sacks, 2 tackles, 1 QBH.
DE Wes Horton
Experience: 30 years old, seven years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 6 games, 4 tackles.
CB Javien Elliott
Experience: 26 years old, four years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 1 INT, 2 PD, 37 tackles (special teams player as well).
WR Chris Hogan
Experience: 32 years old, eight years in the NFL.
2019 stats: 7 games, 8 receptions, 67 yards, 0 TDs (also helped on punt returns).
WR Jarius Wright (Panthers did not pick up option)
Experience: 30 years old, eight years in the NFL
2019 stats: 28 receptions, 296 yards, 0 touchdowns
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
