On the first day of the legal tampering period, the Carolina Panthers placed a restricted free agent tender on safety and special teams standout Sam Franklin—keeping him around for the 2023 season. But they will not be doing the same with fellow defensive back Myles Hartsfield.
As first reported by Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, the Panthers do not plan on tendering the three-year veteran. That will, in effect, turn Hartsfield into an unrestricted free agent.
The #Panthers are not tendering DB Myles Hartsfield as a restricted free agent, meaning he’ll be unrestricted free agent, source says. Surprising, as he started 19 games over the past two seasons and had 59 tackles in 2022. Should have interest elsewhere.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2023
The Ole Miss product joined the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Hartsfield, who actually worked from both the safety and running back spots during the summer, was then named to the 53-man roster at the start of the campaign.
He’s gone on to play in 41 games, with 19 starts, over the past three seasons. A versatile back who served as Carolina’s primary nickel defender, Hartsfield amassed 118 combined tackles (five for a loss), one sack, one forced fumble and seven passes defensed.
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