NFL free agency is supposed to be at least a little fun. Somebody forgot to tell the Carolina Panthers, apparently. Several teams around the league have made splashy, impressive moves to upgrade their rosters on day one of free agency. The Browns acquiring Rams do-it-all safety John Johnson was a great move, as was the Chargers getting a massive upgrade at center, going from Dan Feeney to Corey Linsley.
The Panthers’ moves were limited to two minor offensive line additions. Both offensive tackle Cameron Erving and guard/center Pat Elflein are expected to sign with Carolina. So, how’d they do?
Well, the crew at Touchdown Wire gave the Panthers a C+ for the Elflein move:
“His versatility makes this an intriguing addition, given his experience at center and both guard spots. That could prove beneficial as Carolina looks to restructure their offense, perhaps with a new face at quarterback. But he will need to vastly improve on last year’s performance to make this a worthwhile investment for the Panthers.”
Erving earned an even lower D grade:
“Through his career, per Pro Football Focus, Erving has allowed 16 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, and 95 quarterback hurries, and he’s been penalized 39 times. Perhaps the Panthers see Erving as a value free agent because he’s played all over the line, but neither the tape nor the metrics point to this as anything but a throwaway deal.”
Not exactly inspiring stuff.
There’s something to be said for Elflein’s age and ability to play multiple positions, but adding him and Erving won’t move the needle even a little bit in a division with at least one serious Super Bowl contender.
Whilt this was a relatively boring start to free agency, there’s still plenty of time and salary cap space to get some good value.
To make room for these two, the Panthers are releasing wide receiver Amara Darboh and defensive tackle Zach Kerr.
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