Panthers sign versatile offensive linemen Pat Elflein, Cam Erving during free agency
On the first day that NFL free agency contract negotiations officially opened, the Carolina Panthers have already begun addressing one of their biggest areas of need: offensive line.
Guard Pat Elflein is signing a three-year, $13.5 million deal, per a league source. He will have $6 million fully guaranteed. Elflein, 26, most recently played left guard for the New York Jets last season, starting six games after the Minnesota Vikings waived him earlier in the year. He will likely compete at left guard with Dennis Daley, but will also provide center depth behind Matt Paradis, who has one year left on his contract. Backup center Tyler Larsen is set to become a free agent.
Tackle Cam Erving is signing a two-year, $10 million deal with $8 million guaranteed, per two league sources. Erving, 28, is expected to compete for the starting job at left tackle.
The two moves provide the Panthers with depth at a variety of positions on the offensive line, but instead of clear starters, players who will compete for starting jobs. Both have bounced around to multiple teams, dealt with a variety of injuries and have been mid-level players. The signings will give the Panthers depth and competition, but it will not rule out addressing the line in the draft. If the players find success in Carolina, both deals are reasonably priced, but that remains to be seen.
General manager Scott Fitterer said last week that his hope was to fill some needs in free agency, prior to the draft, and addressing the depth on the offensive line falls in line with that goal.
“I think you always want flexibility with offensive linemen, because only so many suit up on game day,” Fitterer said. “If you can find a guy, that can (play) tackle and guard, or guard and center, flip sides. I think those guys are really, really valuable. If they’re not the starters, they need to be able to do that.”
Three of five starters on the Panthers’ offensive line from last season become free agents this week, guards John Miller and Chris Reed and left tackle Russell Okung.
Elflein has experience playing left guard, right guard and center. He was originally drafted by the Vikings in the third round in 2017 out of Ohio State. He played the first three years of his career in Minnesota, starting a combined 42 games over that time frame.
Per Pro Football Focus, Elflein is a stronger run blocker than he is on passing downs. He earned a 56.1 run blocking grade (out of 100) in 2020 and a 30.5 grade in pass blocking. Elflein’s pass block win rate at guard was 86.5% in 2020, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats, which would have ranked 66th out of 71 players if he qualified.
His best performance was his rookie year when he allowed just 13 hurries despite playing a career-high 957 snaps. After that season, Elflein needed ankle and shoulder surgeries and didn’t play at the same level in 2018, while starting 13 games. Elflein struggled to return from thumb surgery in 2020, which slowed his return and was part of why the Vikings waived him.
During the six games he played with the Jets last year, Elflein earned a 46.7 overall grade from PFF, allowing one sack, two hits, 16 hurries and 19 pressures.
Erving has experience playing every position on the offensive line, but has predominately played left tackle, left guard and center. He will likely compete for the left tackle spot, along with Trent Scott, Daley and Greg Little.
He was originally drafted 19th overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2015. He spent two years with the Browns, playing mostly both guard spots and center, and then was with the Kansas City Chiefs for three seasons, playing left guard, right guard and left tackle, including starting eight games during the 2019 Super Bowl run. He spent 2020 with the Dallas Cowboys, playing in six games only at left tackle.
Injuries were a significant part of Erving’s time with the Cowboys and he has only played all 16 regular-season games once in his career (2015). Last season, he dealt with an MCL sprain in one knee to start the year and then had an MCL sprain in the other after starting five games.
Erving recorded an 83% pass block win rate at tackle since 2019, per Next Gen Stats, which would rank 61st out of 75 had he qualified and 43rd out of 75 in run block win rate during that time frame.
Neither signing is a significant investment and the team clearly put a premium on that versatility, as Fitterer noted, but both players’ recent performances have not resulted in much success. The goal remains protecting whoever will be playing quarterback, and the Panthers put a priority on starting free agency by adding what the team hopes will be positive contributors to the line.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 12:42 PM.
