Panthers haven’t added at safety after cutting Tre Boston. What’s the state of roster?
One of the first big moves of the offseason for the Carolina Panthers was to part ways with veteran safety Tre Boston.
The decision, made to save the Panthers cap space, has left Boston still without a team midway through the second week of free agency and Carolina with a young group of safeties.
Much of the attention regarding the Panthers secondary is on the missing starting cornerback opposite Donte Jackson, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. That’s a major piece currently missing from the defense.
But after moving on from Boston, the safety position has, so far, gone untouched. The defensive line, linebacker and cornerback all have new additions since free agency began, but safety remains a young group for the Panthers.
How does the position look now and what could be added going forward?
Position overviews:
▪ Analysis: Panthers’ options to back up McCaffrey with Mike Davis being a free agent
▪ Panthers can franchise tag Taylor Moton today. What that means for him and the O-Line
▪ Replacing Curtis Samuel? What’s next for Panthers receivers if he moves on
▪ Panthers need to address TE position. What options are in the draft, free agency?
▪ Panthers have limited options at corner. Signing any of these free agents could help
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ON THE ROSTER
Juston Burris
Burris will be entering his second season as the Panthers’ starting strong safety. The 27-year-old started 12 games last year and had a career-high 53 tackles, including three tackles for loss, and one interception. Entering the offseason, he was a potential cap casualty due to the $3.8 million in potential savings, per Over the Cap.
The most experienced member of the safety group, Burris is entering the last year of his contract. He had a solid year in 2020 but had a slow start to the season. Tackling was an issue — he missed 12 per Pro Football Focus —and he is not the strongest run defender.
But Burris had a solid overall year when healthy and will be a needed veteran for the position group.
Sam Franklin
Franklin had a successful rookie season as an undrafted safety out of Temple. He started four games at strong safety when Burris missed time due to injury.
While on the wrong end of a couple touchdowns, Franklin played well overall, especially considering he had barely played on defense prior to Burris going out with the injury. In his first start, he played 100% of the defensive snaps. He will back up Burris as he continues to develop.
Jeremy Chinn
Chinn could really get a position group story of his own, but he appears on the path to playing more safety next season. Playing more safety primarily, as opposed to linebacker, could prolong his career and lessen the risk of injury.
“I think the biggest thing with Jeremy that we have to decide is, we started him in the front seven and then we have packages where he plays in the back row and the secondary,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said in December. “With his body structure and his longevity, is that the best thing for him? Should he be a secondary guy that we use down in the box when we need to?
“So that’s what we have to evaluate and look at this offseason, and a lot of that will have to do with who ends up on our team, too. But I think for Jeremy, probably the best thing would be to start him back and move him up. But we’ll see.”
Over the course of the offseason, the team has continued to say that the role the hybrid defender and Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate in 2020 has will depend on the players added to the roster and the directions that the team goes.
“We think of Jeremy as sort of like a chess piece, a guy you can move around. He was more of a linebacker that would go back and play safety last year,” head coach Matt Rhule said prior to free agency. “I think as we get through this offseason, we’ll decide is he a safety that can move up or is he a linebacker that can move back. He’s the type of player we think, ‘Hey, you want to build around,’ so we’ll see what happens to us in free agency and the draft and then just kind of put him in the right position once April comes around.”
Thus far, the Panthers have been more aggressive in adding at linebacker, but the actions in the rest of free agency and the draft will be worth watching. Either way, as Rhule said, Chinn and many other defenders, will not play solely in one spot in Snow’s defense. If he does indeed start at safety, he will still move up and play all over the field.
The second-round pick out of Southern Illinois is coming off an impressive first season, setting multiple records. He finished with 117 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recovery touchdowns, one interception and five quarterback hits. Chinn has become one of the core players for the Panthers defense.
Kenny Robinson
The Panthers’ fifth-round pick started the season on the practice squad coming off his time in the XFL. Robinson played in nine games in 2020, but almost solely on special teams. The Panthers like the direction he went in, but he will continue to contribute on special teams and provide depth at free safety.
Sean Chandler
The former Temple Owl was not active for any games with the Panthers last year after he was signed off the New York Giants practice squad midseason. Chandler, 24, provides depth at free safety and could be a special teams contributor.
Defensive back Myles Hartsfield
A consistent special teams contributor throughout the season, Hartsfield, 23, saw more playing time on defense toward the end of the season, primarily at nickel. The undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss had 13 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
Hartsfield, a former running back, also played four offensive snaps and had two carries.
As the roster stands now, he would start at nickel in 2021.
WHAT’S NEXT AT SAFETY?
Strong safety is in a relatively solid spot with Burris and Franklin, compared with other areas of the roster. Free safety is where there is a bit of a question mark, largely depending on how Chinn is used.
There is not an expansive group of free agent safeties waiting to be signed. Boston is arguably among the best available. Someone like veteran Tashaun Gipson, who will be 31-years-old at the start of the season, could be a cheap short-term option. Malik Hooker and Damontae Kazee are both currently visiting with a variety of teams and would be intriguing.
There’s not a rush, especially with Chinn a strong candidate to play more safety and potentially eliminating some of the need. Either way, it would benefit the position to add another veteran player on a small, short-term deal. In terms of the draft next month, there’s four second-year players on the roster. Any high investment in the draft doesn’t make sense with this team’s other holes.
The bottom line: Adding to the position at some point would be beneficial, whether it’s with a veteran free agent or later in the draft, but there are more glaring needs. Developing the players on the roster is a significant part of the next steps.
“I think we like the young group that’s in there. We think that they can develop,” Rhule said. “We still have Burris. I think we like Myles Hartsfield, Sam Franklin. Kenny Robinson is a guy we drafted last year; we thought had a good year as the year went on, and Jeremy Chinn gives us some flexibility as well moving back to safety or staying at linebacker.
“So, I think between that group, we think there’s some young talent there that we’re going to have to get the most out of.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
