The NFL’s legal tampering period will begin in one hour, allowing teams and agents to “begin” negotiations ahead of the official start of free agency at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 17th. For the Carolina Panthers, it’s the beginning of a critical phase this offseason.
Not every position can be addressed in the draft and this team has several critical needs. They won’t have a ton of money to make a big splash signing, but after some shrewd cap moves they should have enough for a few mid-level deals to help round out their depth chart. Before the reports start coming in, let’s review where the team stands in regards to the salary cap, their own pending free agents, positions of need and potential targets.