Why tight end Tommy Tremble chose the Carolina Panthers over testing free agency
On Wednesday, five days after the tight end officially re-signed with the Carolina Panthers on a two-year deal worth up to $16 million, Tommy Tremble called it an “easy decision” to stay.
It makes sense why.
Tremble and the Panthers had been talking back and forth for the past “two or three weeks,” Tremble said. The team said it wanted him back as early as move-out Monday — the day after Tremble caught a touchdown pass in the Panthers’ overtime win against the Falcons — and Tremble made it clear he wanted to stay in Charlotte then, too.
Still, in the intervening months between the last game of the regular season and the NFL Scouting Combine, there was always the possibility that Tremble might want to see what was out there for him in free agency.
And why not? Signs in the tight end market indicate that there could’ve been a lot. Juwan Johnson got a three-year, $30.75 million deal. Mike Gesicki agreed to a three-year deal worth $25.5 million. Austin Hooper signed a one-year deal that could reach up to $7 million. (All of them, it should be noted, re-signed with their old teams.)
Add that on to the fact that Tremble is 24 years old — and such a market could be compelling.
But Tremble explained on Wednesday that the decision of signing before the legal tampering period began wasn’t a difficult decision at all.
“We were really deciding on what I wanted on a team, and the core values I wanted on a team,” said Tremble, who finished with 23 catches for a career-high 234 yards and two touchdowns in a season where he missed five games to injury. “And every time we did that puzzle piece to try and see what matches, it always fell on Carolina.
“Them wanting me here, and them deciding collectively that it fits both of us, I think that was probably the best decision, an easy decision, I guess you could say when it really came down to it. I’m glad it ended the way it did.”
With him locked in for the next two years, Tremble doesn’t have to worry about the upcoming draft class, which has quality depth at the tight end position starting with Penn State’s Tyler Warren, who head coach Dave Canales praised at the combine. Tremble instead can focus on other things.
He and his wife, Hope, are expecting a baby boy in May. He can purchase a permanent home in Charlotte — “I’ve been pretty cheap since I’ve been here,” he said with a laugh. He can watch his brother, Jamie, play ball at Syracuse, and do things like he did the day before he signed his deal: surprise his dad with a truck as Pops starts a car-washing business.
Most importantly — for Panthers stakeholders, at least — the deal, too, means he can get back on the JUGS machine with his close friend and teammate and 2021 draft-mate success story, Chuba Hubbard, readying for another season.
“I am staying home, staying some place I love to be,” Tremble said. “It was a really exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Speaking of the 2021 draft class: Tremble is part of a unique group on the 2025 Panthers roster. Four of the first five picks of the 2021 class were either re-signed or extended this year in Carolina. Jaycee Horn, that year’s first-round pick, is now the highest-paid corner in NFL history after signing a four-year, $100 million deal. Third-round selection Brady Christensen signed for $2.78 million on a one-year deal. And Hubbard, the fourth-round selection, signed a massive extension mid-season — a validation of his best and healthiest season to date. (The only one not with the team from that group is second-round pick Terrace Marshall.)
No other draft class is better represented on the Panthers’ roster. Not the 2022 class, after the departures of third-round QB Matt Corral and fourth-round linebacker Brandon Smith. Not even the 2023 class, after the trading of receiver Jonathan Mingo and the release of safety Jammie Robinson.
Tremble took a lot of pride in his draft class’s accomplishments and their desire to stay in Carolina — especially given their respective journeys. Horn was a Pro Bowler this year, shedding the label that he was injury prone. Hubbard finally began the season as the starting back after three previous years of playing behind Christian McCaffrey and Miles Sanders.
“If it was a smooth ride, no one would learn something from it,” he said. “So having guys who know what adversity is and prove that not only to the coaching staff here but to the whole team that, ‘Hey, these guys can work through the hard stuff, and you can trust them that they’re going to continue to build.’ And I think that’s an awesome summary of what our draft class is.
“It’s guys who, no matter what’s coming, they’re still building every single day to be better, no matter what happens.”
Quick hits
▪ The Panthers made a few other roster moves Wednesday, which officially marked the beginning of the new league year. Among those moves: They have re-signed wide receiver Dan Chisena. They also landed former Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million.
▪ Mike Jackson, too, re-signed with the Panthers. He did so on Monday, the first day of the legal negotiating period. The cornerback signed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal — and even added on an extra million on Wednesday. How? He ended up earning $1,035,260 in “performance-based distribution” from the NFL, which is essentially an extra form of compensation based on a comparison of playing time to salary. That $1.035 million is third-most in the league — a product of Jackson playing 1,200-plus snaps and a validation of just how much of a surprise Jackson was for the Panthers in 2024.
▪ Bobby Maffei served as a defensive assistant for the Carolina Panthers for three years and is now headed to Wake Forest to serve as a senior analyst, according to a report from Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Before the Panthers, he worked at Nebraska and other college teams.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
