What do the Panthers’ free agency moves mean for the team in 2020?
Free agency is officially in full swing. A lot of questions surrounding the Panthers have already been answered.
The Cam Newton era is officially coming to a close. Many of the team’s free agents have signed elsewhere as expected and the team has selected its future at quarterback, at least for the next couple years.
What are some of the takeaways from the moves the Panthers made? We broke down what you need to know about each transaction.
Signings:
Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater — 3-years, $63 million
Moving on from Cam Newton this offseason seemed inevitable. Tuesday the Panthers announced they were seeking a trade for their franchise quarterback of nine years and then agreed to a three-year deal with Teddy Bridgewater on the same day.
The Bridgewater signing reflects a couple things. They are taking a chance on a quarterback who hasn’t had a real opportunity to start since 2015, but have given themselves an out in 2022 with the risk of only $5 million in dead cap if they cut him that offseason. If Bridgewater is successful, then they’ll continue to build around the young quarterback. But it also allows them the option of drafting a quarterback in 2021 and giving him time to learn for a year from Bridgewater. There’s different options that work with him in rebuilding the team.
His comfort in the offense Joe Brady will want to run also helps with the condensed offseason the Panthers and the rest of the NFL will face due to the coronavirus. Time to learn the offense may be limited, and Bridgewater will have a leg up. Plus Brady worked with him for a year in 2018. He knows what to expect. It will be interesting to see how he takes advantage of his opportunity.
Vikings DE Stephen Weatherly — 2-years, $12.5 million
The Panthers needed help on the defensive line with a majority of the group hitting free agency. Weatherly is a fine signing. Over the last two years he has totaled six sacks, 59 tackles and 17 quarterback hits. He fits what Rhule is building and looking for. Younger players, he’s 26, who can fill a variety of roles. The Panthers clearly saw potential and he will have an impact role in 2020.
Browns DB Juston Burris — 2-years, $8 million
Burris is an interesting signing. The Raleigh native, who played at NC State, will likely start opposite Tre Boston, who the Panthers gave a three-year extension to. He returned to playing safety last year with the Browns after he had been moved to corner. Burris had two interceptions, seven passes defensed, one sack and 32 tackles in 2019. This is another up-and-comer that fits what Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow are looking for in building their defense. Players who have potential. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more pieces like Burris and Weatherly added this offseason.
S Tre Boston — 3-years, $18 million
The Panthers re-signing Boston makes a lot of sense. It gives them a veteran presence in the defensive backfield and a vocal leader on and off the field. He’ll be able to help the younger players, like Burris, and he had a good season in 2019. Boston earned the long-term contract he was looking for, despite some missed tackling woes that have stood out, and will help the new defense grow and develop.
Ravens WR Seth Roberts — 1-year deal and Saints WR Keith Kirkwood — 1-year deal
Although these two wide receivers were signed separately and on different days, the goal with signing each of them isn’t that different. Both were given one-year deals, low risk, and have yet to reach their full potential. Both provide depth at the wide receiver position. See the theme?
With Baltimore last year, Roberts had 21 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Instead of being known for his speed or size, he has strong blocking skills and did not have a single dropped pass during the 2019 season. However, he is coming off the least productive season in his six-year career (spent previous five years with the Raiders).
Kirkwood is someone who has battled injuries but is very familiar with Rhule. He played for him at Temple, so the coach knows what kind of talent he has. The wide receiver is also familiar with 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.
Bengals G John Miller — 1-year, $4 million
Carolina needed help at guard and signing John Miller was a low-cost way of getting it. He also has a connection to the new Panthers as he played in college at Louisville, blocking for Bridgewater.
With Trai Turner now in Los Angeles and Greg Van Roten likely signing elsewhere, he fills a hole, but there’s a reason the Bengals released him from a three-year, $16.5 million deal he signed last offseason.
Cardinals WR Pharoh Cooper — 1-year
The Panthers could not find a consistent returner during the 2019 season. It remained an issue, despite the team trying out a variety of options. Cooper should fix that problem. The one-time First-Team All Pro will likely fill that role for Carolina in 2020 and provide depth at wide receiver if needed.
Jaguars TE Seth Devalve — 1-year
In the first four years of his career with the Browns and the Jaguars, Devalve has totaled 60 receptions for 736 yards and four touchdowns. He was a backup with the Jaguars last year and a special teams player. Devalave isn’t a replacement for Greg Olsen, but instead giving the Panthers depth at a position that needed it.
XFL QB P.J. Walker — 2-year deal
Walker put up quite the performance with the XFL’s 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. He will now compete with Will Grier for the back-up job after the team traded Kyle Allen to Washington.
Raiders LB Tahir Whitehead — 1-year deal
The eight-year NFL veteran brings a experience presence at linebacker. He spent the past two years with the Raiders, starting 32 of 32 games, and is fourth in tackles since 2016 with 476. The one-year deal signals that Whitehead is not a long-term solution at linebacker, but he had to take over leading the defense for the Raiders last year and could help the Panthers in a variety of situations, especially with a lot of young players around him.
Jets WR Robby Anderson- 2-year deal, $20 million
Anderson, 26, was considered the best free agent wide receiver available this offseason. He was ranked as No. 23 in overall free agent by NFL.com. He spent his first four years with the Jets and has totaled 207 receptions for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’ll play a role as a deep threat and is the fourth former Temple player to join the Panthers this offseason.
Departures
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. They’ll miss his presence on special teams, but it was appropriate to let him move on.
Eric Reid, free agency
The Panthers released Eric Reid after signing him to a $22 million, three-year contract extension last offseason. He just wasn’t part of the plan going forward under Rhule, despite the good season he put together last year.
CB James Bradberry, Giants — 3-years, $43.5 million
Carolina would have been smart to re-sign Bradberry, the cornerback is coming off the best year of his career. He allowed a completion percentage of 59.8 percent this past season and 11.1 yards per completion. The Panthers do not have a player on the roster that can slide in and be ready to fill his spot, but the Panthers weren’t going to pay him $15 million a year. Corner is still a need.
Edge Mario Addison, Bills — 3-years, $30.5 million
Both sides were interested in Addison being in Carolina for the future, but the Panthers ultimately decided to move in another direction. Addison led the team in sacks last year (9.5) and with the departure of Bruce Irvin as well, second on the team with 8.5, the Panthers have a lot of sack production to make up. They’ve begun addressing that, but as we’ve seen with free agency so far, it will be with cheaper options.
DT Vernon Butler, Bills — 2-years, $15 million
The former first-round pick is coming off his best statistical season in 2019, but it always seemed like the Panthers were ready to move on. It’s no surprise he signed elsewhere as the Panthers continue to re-build their defensive line.
DT Gerald McCoy, Cowboys — 3-years, $18.3 million and Edge Bruce Irvin, Seahawks
We put these two together because they moved on for similar reasons. Both veteran defenders were only in Carolina on one-year deals and both are looking to win now. They didn’t want to be part of the rebuild and they don’t fit the rebuild. The Panthers are developing players and it just doesn’t fit to pay veteran players like McCoy and Irvin.
G Greg Van Roten, Jets
The Panthers will be without their two starting guards from the 2019 season with Van Roten moving on to the Jets and Turner being traded to the Chargers. While the Miller signing is start, they still need to address the position this offseason. The offensive line was a major issue last year, tying the Dolphins for the most sacks allowed, and Van Roten is a significant loss for Brady’s new offense.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 11:37 AM.
