Panthers LB spotlight: Pending free agents, possible targets, 2023 draft outlook
The Carolina Panthers’ linebacker room is ripe for a makeover this offseason.
Veteran Shaq Thompson has been the leader of Carolina’s defense since Luke Kuechly retired after the 2019 season. No Panthers played more snaps than Thompson last season. His 1,089 snaps were 88 more than any other teammate and 148 more than linebacker Frankie Luvu.
Thompson has one year left on the four-year, $54 million contract extension he signed in 2019. He carries a $24 million cap hit, and is the most expensive player on the Panthers’ roster. However, none of his salary is guaranteed, meaning the team can cut Thompson without much penalty. He would carry about $11 million in dead cap room, but the team would save nearly $13.2 million by cutting him.
Thompson turns 29 in April and will likely be a salary cap causality if he does not take a significant pay cut. Losing Thompson would create a void in the middle of the Panthers’ defense.
Pending free agents
LB Cory Littleton
Littleton was a role player for Carolina throughout the season. He is likely to look for a permanent starting role elsewhere in free agency. If that opportunity doesn’t emerge, he could return on another short-term deal.
LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe
Given his background with special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, Iyiegbuniwe was able to find a suitable role quickly after arriving midseason. With Tabor back, the Panthers could retain the reliable special-teamer.
Under contract
Shaq Thompson
Though Thompson battled several nagging injuries throughout the season, the eight-year linebacker did not miss a game for the first time in his career. He also led the team in tackles with 104.
There is a chance Thompson has played his last snaps with the Panthers. Carolina drafted Thompson No. 25 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played an important role in the Panthers’ historic 15-1 season when he learned under linebackers Kuechly and Thomas Davis. His 709 tackles are the fourth-most in franchise history.
Frankie Luvu
Luvu blossomed into a reliable three-down linebacker this season. He was second on the team in tackles behind Thompson and led the team in tackles for a loss. His versatility on the perimeter showed. Only Brian Burns had more sacks than Luvu while Luvu earned two more TFLs than the two-time Pro Bowler.
The former undrafted free agent will be asked to do even more entering his sixth pro season.
Damien Wilson
Wilson started five games this season and appeared in all 17. But there were not many opportunities for the eighth-year linebacker playing behind Thompson and Luvu. Before signing in Carolina last season, Wilson recorded 106 tackles for Jacksonville in 2021. He’ll turn 30 years old in May.
Brandon Smith
Smith showed signs during his rookie season that encouraged Carolina. He started in one game and appeared in 13. Smith was inactive for the final four games due to injury. The 2022 fourth-round pick will have plenty of opportunities next season to be a starter.
Arron Mosby
Mosby spent his rookie season on the Panthers’ practice squad.
Draft outlook
Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton was one of the best players in the Super Bowl. His nine tackles led all defenders and whenever the Philadelphia Eagles threw underneath or ran vertical, Bolton was there to make a sure tackle. His scoop-and-score touchdown kept Kansas City in the game early.
Bolton was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Listed at 5-foot-11, evaluators initially knocked his lack of size. Two years later, he’s the prototypical linebacker teams seek.
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. will likely be overlooked by scouts leading up to the 2023 draft. He’s under 6 feet and weighs 230 pounds. But he plays with the range and quickness comparable to Bolton. Like Bolton, he won’t blanket tight ends in coverage but smart defensive coordinators can scheme around that.
The Panthers need more athleticism next to Luvu. Pace plays with speed, and quickness and has a nose for the ball.
Potential free agent options
Tremaine Edmunds, Bills
It would be odd for Carolina to move on from Thompson’s 2023 salary just to promise former Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds double-digit millions. But Carolina’s defense will be remade in new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s vision. Perhaps Edmunds — a third-down linebacker who made major strides in pass coverage — is the exact piece Evero wants in the middle of his defense.
However, Evero has spent the past six seasons with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams, and neither team has invested high capital at linebacker. This could mean Carolina is in the market for an affordable veteran rather than the 25-year-old Edmunds, who was a first-round pick in 2019.
Anthony Walker Jr., Browns
Veteran linebacker Anthony Walker sustained a season-ending quadriceps tendon tear in September, costing the Cleveland Browns their defensive captain and signal caller for most of the season. He is expected to be healthy by OTAs and should command about $4 million in free agency.
In 2021, Walker put together 113 tackles despite only playing in 13 games. He’s a rangy linebacker capable of playing sideline-to-sideline and downhill against the run.
