Panthers mailbag: Could there be a major Carolina shake-up on special teams in 2025?
The Carolina Panthers are inching closer to the business season.
With just three NFL playoff games left on the slate, GM Dan Morgan and his crew of front office workers will begin preparation for free agency and the draft. And naturally, Panthers fans are curious about what could happen during the annual roster churn.
With that in mind, The Observer is bringing back the bimonthly offseason mailbag to answer the questions of the Carolina faithful.
Here are some standout questions received from email and social media:
A shake-up on special teams?
Mike Smith asks: The season and playoffs reveal the role of Special Teams play in critical moments and games. What is the outlook for that phase of the Panthers game (coaching and players) in 2025?
Mike Kaye: Well, there’s likely to be at least a little change coming next season.
While special teams coordinator Tracy Smith and special teams assistant coach Daren Bates are set to return, most of their unit is set to test the market. Really, only special teams ace Jon Rhattigan is under contract for the core group. Rhattigan signed a one-year contract extension after being claimed off waivers last year. He went on to lead the team with 12 special teams tackles on the season.
All three specialists, long snapper JJ Jansen, punter Johnny Hekker and kicker Eddy Piñeiro, are pending free agents. The trio spent the past three years working together, as both Piñeiro and Hekker arrived in 2022. Jansen, of course, has played all 260 of his career games in Carolina, and he has been with the team longer than any player in franchise history.
Of the three, Jansen seems like the most likely to return, as he will probably sign for around the league minimum and barely blip on the salary-cap radar. Hekker, who is coming off a down year for him, might make sense as a one-year deal to keep some stability in the room. The expectation, as of now, is that Piñeiro will test the market and likely head elsewhere. Piñeiro should have a decent market, despite having a rough second half of the season. Hekker, who offers trick play ability, is one of the best punters of his generation and still has name value at the position.
Bates will actually get to check out some of the top specialists in the draft this weekend when he serves as the special teams coordinator for the East team at next week’s Shrine Bowl. He will work closely with Miami kicker Andres Borregales and South Carolina punter Kai Kroeger.
While the Panthers don’t strike this beat writer as a team looking to spend draft capital on a kicker, potentially replacing Hekker could lead to some serious draft consideration. Whether Hekker and/or Piñeiro return or not, it’s fair to expect at least some competition for one or both of the spots.
Along with the specialists, core aces like Nick Scott, Sam Franklin, David Moore, Lonnie Johnson and Feleipe Franks are also pending free agents. Contributors like Claudin Cherlus (toe) and Trevin Wallace (shoulder) are coming off injuries. So, the Panthers are likely to lose or upgrade some of those guys. Of the group, Scott (given his familiarity with the defense and the personal protector position) and Franks (given his standout campaign in kickoff coverage) are probably the priority players for the Panthers.
Raheem Blackshear, the team’s longtime kick return, is set to be a restricted free agents. With restricted tender salaries growing annually, it’s hard to see the Panthers offering up one for Blackshear. Still, he might be able to return on a lesser deal. If Blackshear moves on, look for the Panthers to prioritize a returner in the late rounds of the draft.
Smart spending in free agency for Carolina
James asks: Long term capwise, is it better for the Panthers to draft offensive weapons and bring in vets for DL or the other way around? Looks like we need WR/RB/TE again but also NT/DT/Edge/LB/Safety. Also, hard to find info on who the big NTs are in FA and draft, can you point the direction?
There are plenty of different ways to approach this build. Though, realistically, you’d probably want your offensive players to grow together with a young QB. Hence, the Panthers drafting Xavier Legette and Jonathon Brooks last year.
The defense needs a mix of proven commodities and draft prospects with upside. The money should really be invested in the front seven and at safety, where the entire veteran group is set to test the open market.
The Panthers would really benefit from adding a proven nose tackle, who can take on double-team blocks and stop the run, via trade or free agency. They could also also solidify the front by double dipping with a veteran on a short-term deal and a late-round rookie at the nose tackle position.
Edge rushers, at least great ones, typically don’t hit free agency. The second-tier group of guys, like Josh Sweat and Chase Young, aren’t getting market-setting contracts, but it’s also worth asking if they’re even worth $18 million per year. Sweat feels like a great option for the Panthers, specifically, but Carolina could opt to use their eighth overall pick on a pass rusher with D.J. Wonnum and Jadeveon Clowney already on the books. This is supposedly a strong draft class for pass rushers.
At safety, the market typically takes a while to develop. It’s an underappreciated position in a lot of ways, so Panthers EVP of Football Operations Brandt Tilis will need to be mindful of the costs of veteran players. There will be plenty of external options at the position.
Offensively, unless the team goes after wide receiver Tee Higgins, it’s hard to imagine them spending significantly on that side of the ball. They’ll likely figure out the center position from an in-house perspective with restricted free agent Cade Mays and unrestricted free agents Austin Corbett and Brady Christensen seeking new contracts. Re-signing Mays and Corbett — who is coming off biceps surgery — might cost around the same amount as bringing back Christensen by himself.
The lone intriguing situation on offense with major cap implications is right tackle Taylor Moton. Entering the final year of his deal, the Panthers can save around $13 million in cap space by either cutting or extending Moton, who has been the team’s most consistent offensive player of the past few years. Depending on how the Moton deal shakes out, the Panthers might have another major need to consider on the offensive line.
The Panthers aren’t likely to be massive spenders on the tight end or running back markets, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them spend on upgrading the depth at each position. They also have decisions to make on Tommy Tremble and Miles Sanders, respectively.
There isn’t one right answer as to how to handle the cap situation — with draft vs. free agency — it’s just a matter of making smart moves and sticking to a plan that helps build both in the short term and the long term.
The pressure is on the Panthers in 2025
Aries asks: With Jayden Daniels and Co. making it to the NFC Championship, CJ Stroud, and the Texans being atop their division for the second time, and a Wild Card berth for Bo Nix and the Broncos... does pressure for a HUGE leap in success increase for Bryce Young and the Panthers in 2025?
Regardless of the results elsewhere, the expectations for the Panthers should be noticeably higher in 2025.
The quick Texans and Commanders turnarounds require some nuance. Stroud plays in the AFC South with talent all around him — which is a credit to the front office — and the Commanders had a relatively strong core despite the woes that eventually led them to select Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick last year. Bryce Young would have benefited exponentially from having a wideout like Nico Collins or Terry McLaurin over the past two years.
Still, the excuse train for the Panthers should be stalled entering 2025.
Young has started 28 games and won some scrappy bouts down the stretch of his second season. The Panthers have a solid-but-not-great cap situation due to years of restructurings, and their draft capital is plentiful with the option to be enhanced by a trade out of the top 10. There’s room for significant enhancements and improvement on both sides of the ball.
Dave Canales has two years of play-calling under his belt, and he has one year of being the top guy on his resume. Things need to ramp up quickly.
The Panthers more than doubled their win total from 2023 in 2024, and the hope, at least from the most positive onlookers, should be another doubling in 2025. If the Panthers can win 10 games next season, they’ll be in the hunt for the playoffs and the division crown, and that’s really where the pressure comes from.
This is no longer a “figure it out” mode for Carolina after last year’s “no expectations” campaign. The goal for 2025 should be to win the division with a worst-case scenario being over .500 and earning a playoff berth.
