Panthers’ longest tenured defender is now a free agent. What that means for Carolina
For the first time in his career, Shaq Thompson isn’t preparing for another NFL season in Charlotte.
The Carolina Panthers said Monday they have informed Thompson that the team is moving in another direction at the inside linebacker position, and that Thompson will test free agency next month. Thompson, 30, was the Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2015 and the team’s longest-tenured defensive player.
His departure will mark the end of an era, the last direct link to Panther greats Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, two linebackers he played alongside as a rookie. Thompson, in fact, is fourth in franchise history in tackles with 752 — trailing only Davis, Kuechly and Mike Minter.
“We appreciate Shaq’s leadership and dedication over the past 10 seasons,” general manager Dan Morgan said in a statement Monday. “Always a source of passion and enthusiasm, he was committed to this organization on and off the field, poured into his teammates, and strived to bring out the best in them. We wish Shaq the best as he moves forward with his career.”
Thompson told reporters after the season that he wanted to stay in Carolina and that the injuries he’s sustained the past two seasons — the fractured fibula in Week 2 of 2023 and the Achilles tear in Week 4 of 2024 — don’t reflect the durability he’d showcased since his arrival in the NFL. In 2022, for instance, he notched a career-high 135 tackles.
“I would love to end my career here and be one of the guys in history to play with one team,” he said on move-out Monday, a few hours after his team’s season finale at Atlanta in January. “But it’s up to them. These two injuries were fluky. Everyone knows about the one last year, and about this one this year, of course there was nothing I could do. But it happened. Get better. And come back stronger.”
Other signs indicated that 2024 would be his last in Carolina. The final two years of his contract were restructured ahead of the 2023 season, which kept the Panthers’ unquestioned leader on a pay cut, The Observer reported at the time.
Still, he was resolute after the season that he wasn’t ready to retire — saying he’s “probably got about three or four (years) left in me.”
Thomspon’s departure frees up about $3.3 million in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap, for the Panthers as they try to rebuild a 2024 defense that allowed the most points in NFL history and gave up 3,057 rushing yards — 179.8 a game.
The Panthers drafted Trevin Wallace out of Kentucky last year, a move that could’ve been read as drafting Thompson’s successor. In 2025, they’ll also have Josey Jewell, another veteran, in the linebackers room, as well as Claudin Cherelus, Jon Rhattigan, Chandler Wooten and Jacoby Windmon.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 9:28 AM.
