Tag: jordan fuller

Ejiro Evero talks about Panthers’ familiar free-agent signings

Panthers DC Ejiro Evero will be reunited with some familiar faces from his LA and Denver days.

Continuity is key in the NFL—and unfortunately for the Carolina Panthers, they haven’t experienced a ton of it in recent years. But some familiar faces will be in the building, even if they weren’t on the team last season.

Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who was retained through the transition into new head coach Dave Canales, spoke with reporters on Thursday afternoon. He was asked about a few of the front office’s free-agent signings, particularly the ones he has a history with.

“The first part is that those guys are all very, very good football players,” Evero said. “They’re smart, they’re tough, they’re instinctive, they play hard, they’re great teammates. So from that standpoint, they uplift their team.”

Evero will be reunited with linebacker Josey Jewell, whom he coached as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2022, as well as defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson and safeties Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott—his guys over from the Los Angeles Rams days. They’ll all look to add to the defense that allowed the fourth-fewest total yards in 2023.

And although there will be some familiarity between he and his players, that doesn’t necessarily mean their roles will be the same in Carolina.

“The defense is gonna be a little bit different than how we played it in Denver, how we played it at the LA Rams,” Evero added. “So from that standpoint, it’s gonna be a little bit of an adjustment. But havin’ those guys on our team right now is such a huge step forward for us.”

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Panthers projected defensive depth chart heading into April

The Panthers defense looks quite different than it did compared to this time last offseason.

While the Carolina Panthers could have another move or two up their sleeve, (we’re looking at you, Stephon Gilmore), the major waves of free agency have crashed.

The hectic tides brought a ton of change for the team, especially on defense. Linebackers Brian Burns, Frankie Luvu and Yetur Gross-Matos, cornerback Donte Jackson and safeties Jeremy Chinn and Vonn Bell were amongst the many names that have now washed away.

But those waters also turned up some new and exciting ones.

So, as we head out of March and further towards the 2024 NFL draft, here is our projected defensive depth chart for the Panthers:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th
DE Derrick Brown LaBryan Ray
DT Shy Tuttle Nick Thurman
DE A’Shawn Robinson Raequan Williams
OLB Jadeveon Clowney K’Lavon Chaisson Amaré Barno Luiji Vilain
LB Shaq Thompson Chandler Wooten Claudin Cherelus
LB Josey Jewell Tae Davis
OLB D.J. Wonnum DJ Johnson
CB Jaycee Horn D’Shawn Jamison Lamar Jackson
CB Dane Jackson Dicaprio Bootle
SS Xavier Woods Jammie Robinson Sam Franklin Jr.
FS Jordan Fuller Nick Scott Alex Cook
NCB Troy Hill AJ Parker

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Panthers S Jordan Fuller has some pretty famous family members

New Panthers S Jordan Fuller might be a Six Degrees of Separation cheat code.

Never mind football. Playing Six Degrees of Separation with Jordan Fuller is where the real fun is at.

The new Carolina Panthers safety spoke with local reporters on Wednesday, hosting his first chat since he signed his fresh one-year, $5.25 million deal. When the Zoom call ventured into the 26-year-old’s interests, Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer asked Fuller about the sound-proof panel that was set up behind him.

Fuller, who said he’s been rapping and singing, told Kaye that he has a pretty big contact in the music industry.

“I enjoy it,” he replied. “It’s a part of my family. My mom sings. She has her solo career, but also she sang background with, basically, you name it—she sang with them.  So grew up goin’ to concerts like Luther Vandross, he was Uncle Luther to us. She sang with Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys.”

Fuller’s mother, Cindy Mizelle, is a veteran vocalist who has backed many of music’s greatest artists. In addition to Uncle Luther, The Stones, Mariah and Alicia, Mizelle has also worked with Whitney Houston, Dave Matthews Band, Steely Dan and more.

As of that wasn’t cool enough, Fuller even has a tie to the movie industry. His aunt, Meredith, is married to actor and comedian David Adkins—more commonly known as Sinbad.

Yeah, Sinbad is his uncle!

So if Panthers owner David Tepper is looking to fill Bank of America Stadium with some more concerts this year, one of his newest players just might be able to help.

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Panthers are signing Jordan Fuller to one-year deal

The Panthers are signing Jordan Fuller to a one-year deal worth up to $5.25 million

The Los Angeles Rams have suffered their second loss of free agency. After Coleman Shelton agreed to a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears, Jordan Fuller is heading to Carolina to join the Panthers.

According to NFL Network, it’s a one-year deal worth up to $5.25 million. That’s less than the Rams paid for Kamren Curl, who got a two-year deal worth up to $13 million.

Fuller spent the last four years with the Rams after being a sixth-round pick in 2020. He was a captain in 2021 and 2023, and he even called the defensive plays in 2021 – just his second year in the league.

In 48 games (46 starts), Fuller recorded 279 tackles, seven interceptions and 17 passes defensed.

In Carolina, Fuller will reunite with Ejiro Evero, the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. He was the Rams’ safeties coach in 2020 and secondary coach in 2021, so he coached Fuller for two seasons.

Panthers reportedly signing former Rams S Jordan Fuller

The Panthers are reportedly set to reunite Jordan Fuller with Ejiro Evero and Jonathan Cooley.

The Carolina Panthers just had themselves another successful free-agent visit.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the team is expected to sign former Los Angeles Rams safety Jordan Fuller. Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero added that the deal is a one-year agreement worth up to $5.25 million.

Fuller, who met with the Panthers on Friday, was selected by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft. The Ohio State University product spent all four of his pro campaigns in Los Angeles—where he amassed 279 combined tackles, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles and 46 starts over 48 games.

It’d be out west where Fuller first crossed paths with current Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero—who served as Fuller’s position coach in 2020 and the secondary coach in 2021. He also worked with Carolina’s secondary/cornerbacks coach Jonathan Cooley, who was a defensive assistant, assistant secondary coach and defensive backs coach for the Rams from 2020 to 2022.

In addition to Fuller, the Panthers reportedly reached an agreement with outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson on Friday.

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1 pending free agent the Colts could target from each NFC team

Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each NFC team.

With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.

Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.

We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.

Here’s a look at one pending free agent from each NFC team that should interest the Colts:

Five former Ohio State players make list of top NFL free agents

Five Buckeyes make list of top free agents #GoBucks

Our lovely friends over at Touchdown Wire have provided an interesting list of the top 101 players to become free agents in 2024, and five former Ohio State football stars have made an appearance. These lists are always fun because the excitement of someone getting a fresh start always provides a silver lining of potential stardom.

Some of the players on this list are young guys looking to cash on big and potentially start over, but a couple are older players looking to make a trip to the bank as they finish their career.

NFL teams can contact free agents on March 11, which opens the official tampering period. Now, this list is not set in stone as there is a slim chance a player can be franchised tagged and no longer available for free agency, but again I want to emphasize that chance is pretty slim for these five players. Let’s now dive into the list.

Two Rams make Touchdown Wire’s top 101 free agents of 2024

Two Rams players made Touchdown Wire’s list of the 101 best free agents of 2024

The Los Angeles Rams’ free-agent class isn’t the strongest this year, certainly not in the realm of some past groups that featured star players hitting the market. There’s no question their top pending free agent is Kevin Dotson, while Ahkello Witherspoon, Jordan Fuller and Demarcus Robinson are also players the Rams would probably like to re-sign.

Touchdown Wire released its rankings of the top 101 free agents for 2024 and two Rams made the list: Dotson at No. 32 and Fuller at No. 85.

They were both key starters for Los Angeles last season and should have decent markets if they do hit free agency, but the Rams would like to retain them – Dotson for his dominance at guard and Fuller for his leadership in the secondary.

Dotson earned an overall grade of 85.2 from Pro Football Focus last season and Fuller’s grade was 67.9, including a run-defense mark of 75.0. Of course, Dotson is going to be more difficult for the Rams to keep because of how coveted he will be, but with about $46 million in cap space, they’ll have the funds to make it happen if they’d like.

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent safeties

The 2024 offseason’s top 12 free-agent safeties

The Carolina Panthers probably won’t be hunting down some of the best safeties on the open market this offseason. Heck, they’re likely to depart with a pretty decent-sized name of their own.

Nonetheless, let’s wrap these rankings up and give you the top 12 safeties of free agency.