Panthers coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer laid out the plan a few weeks ago: they intend to be “really targeted” in free agency. We don’t have financial details for every reported signing as of yet, but the information we have shows that for the most part they’re sticking to the plan.
Here’s a look at the cap figures we know so far:
iOL Pat Elflein: Three years, $11.5 million, $6 million guaranteed
OT Cameron Erving: Two years, $10 million, $8 million guaranteed
OLB Haason Reddick: One year, $8 million, $6 million guaranteed
DL Morgan Fox: Two years, $8.1 million, $7 million guaranteed
WR David Moore: Two years, $4.75 million, $1.25 million guaranteed
TE Dan Arnold: Two years, $6 million, guaranteed $ unknown
Count us among those who were not impressed by the first two moves.
While Elflein and Erving can line up at multiple positions, Carolina may have overvalued that particular quality, because they’re not good linemen. Pro Football Focus has them ranked No. 147 and No. 151 respectively among 151 offensive linemen who have played at least 1500 snaps since the 2018 season began. Touchdown Wire also gave the Panthers poor grades for these two moves.
On the bright side, these were more early missteps than fatal mistakes. Other than Elflein and Erving, this is mostly a bunch of low-cost, potential high-reward kind of moves.
Here is a look at the other signings that we don’t have financial details on:
LB Denzel Perryman: Two years, $ unknown
CB Rashaan Melvin: One year, $ unknown
RB Darius Clark: One year, $ unknown
Given Perryman’s injury history it’s hard to imagine him getting eight figures. Melvin is likely far lower given his age and Clark is practically guaranteed to come cheap.
Throw it all together and we see a clear pattern: the Panthers are indeed deliberately picking their targets and being careful not to overpay.
While there’s an argument that this year’s free agent class is unique and worth splurging on (Bill Belichick certainly thinks so), that’s usually the right way to approach free agency. We would love it if they signed a big name like Kyle Fulller or Geno Atkins to a sizable deal. Those contracts more often than not wind up as cautionary tales, though.
However, it’s only been a few days and Rhule and Fitterer aren’t done. Given the number of quality free agents that have been taking team-friendly, one-year contracts there’s still a chance to land a couple of real difference-makers at a discount.
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