Stealing from the enemy: Panthers’ free-agent options with familiar faces from NFC South
The Carolina Panthers are likely to keep their options open as they look to upgrade their roster with aggressive (but calculated) moves in free agency.
While the free agency scope is vast at several positions, the Panthers could look to bring in some familiar faces from their NFC South battles in recent years. Last offseason, the Panthers brought in wide receiver David Moore, tight end Feleipe Franks and linebacker Cam Gill to help fill out out their roster, and all three players joined Carolina from other NFC South teams.
This year, the Panthers’ front office — led by second-year general manager Dan Morgan — could be interested in stealing some more role players from the division rivals. The Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will all have double-digit free agents set to hit the market, and perhaps, the Panthers could find a few of them useful in their offensive and defensive schemes.
Let’s take a look at the three rival teams and potential free-agent options for the Panthers from each squad:
Atlanta Falcons
Free agent that makes sense for the Panthers: S Justin Simmons
As The Observer documented last week, the Panthers are set to have all four of their veteran safeties hit the open market in March. With that in mind, wholesale changes are likely coming for the position. The Panthers need to field better safety play next year, especially after giving up the most points and the most rushing yardage of any defense in the league in 2024.
Simmons, 31, is on the downturn of his career. But if the Panthers are looking for a bridge starter for a season, he might make sense. Simmons is no longer a Pro Bowl candidate, but he does have solid range in the secondary. He’s also considered a good leader, on and off the field, and his ball skills are still apparent. Simmons has 11 interceptions in the past three seasons.
No one is a slam-dunk, must-have option on the Falcons’ pending departure list, but Simmons has name value, experience and ball-hawking skills that make him somewhat appealing as a short-term solution at a position of need.
The rest of the unrestricted free-agent group for Atlanta: OLB Matt Judon, OLB Lorenzo Carter, CB Mike Hughes, S Richie Grant, DT Kentavius Street, WR Rondale Moore, CB Antonio Hamilton, OLB James Smith-Williams, TE Ross Dwelley, WR KhaDarel Hodge, OT Storm Norton, DT Eddie Goldman, G Elijah Wilkinson, CB Kevin King, LB Josh Woods, DT Demone Harris, OT Brandon Parker, C Drew Dalman, K Riley Patterson, DT Ta’Quon Graham, RB Avery Williams
New Orleans Saints
Free agent that makes sense for the Panthers: TE Juwan Johnson
Like the Falcons, the Saints don’t have much to offer the Panthers in terms of talent on their pending free-agent list. But the Panthers have an understated need for tight end depth, and Johnson could make sense if Carolina decides to move on from Tommy Tremble this offseason.
Johnson is coming off a productive fifth season with New Orleans, as he posted 50 catches for 548 yards and three touchdowns. That said, his blocking work has left a lot to be desired over the course of his career. Johnson should be considered a better pass-catching tight end than Tremble. But the former’s blocking ability (or lack thereof) might be a deterrent for the Panthers with Ja’Tavion Sanders already being a work in progress in that department.
The tight end free-agent class is pretty mediocre. It’s essentially full of aging starters and forgettable role players. Johnson, 28, is probably the only notable name in the mix that doesn’t fit in either category. However, that outlook could give him a favorable enough market to price himself out of the Panthers’ pay range.
The rest of the unrestricted free-agent group for New Orleans: OLB Chase Young, DE Payton Turner, LB Willie Gay Jr., DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, OT Olisaemeka Udoh, LG Lucas Patrick, S Will Harris, CB Paulson Adebo, FB Adam Prentice, OT Justin Herron, Ugochukwu Amadi, WR Dante Pettis, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, C Shane Lemieux, CB Shemar Jean-Charles, OT Landon Young
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Free agent that makes sense for the Panthers: OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
The Panthers obviously need pass rush help, and if they strike out on someone like Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat, they could look to raise the floor of their depth chart with a stopgap option.
Tryon-Shoyinka, a 2021 first-round pick, had an uneven four seasons with the Buccaneers following their Super Bowl win. However, he’s still just 25 and has produced 15 sacks as a rotational edge defender.
While he’s probably not an upgrade as a run defender, signing Tryon-Shoyinka to be a rotational pass rusher makes sense on a 1-year deal. He’s not going to get a big contract on the open market, and getting a fresh start to prove himself in Carolina could help him cash in during the 2026 offseason.
Before becoming enraged that Chris Godwin isn’t the pick here, remember that he is coming off ankle dislocation surgery. The Panthers just went through the Jonathon Brooks saga (a nine-month timeline that featured a heavily delayed return to the field and a re-tear of an existing ACL injury) in 2024. It’s doubtful that the Panthers would want to invest big resources in another notable player coming off a significant (albeit different) injury. That outlook just feels very unlikely at this point.
The rest of the unrestricted free-agent group for Tampa Bay: WR Chris Godwin, LB Lavonte David, OLB Anthony Nelson, DT Greg Gaines, LG Ben Bredeson, LG Royce Newman, RB Chase Edmonds, CB Tavierre Thomas, QB Kyle Trask, DT William Gholston, G Sua Opeta, WR Sterling Shepard, OT Justin Skule, OLB Shaquill Barrett, CB Troy Hill, OT Robert Hainsey, CB Bryce Hall, S Mike Edwards, DT Eric Banks, LB KJ Britt, S Ryan Neal
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
