13 pending offensive free agents with ties to the Panthers’ coaching staff

Mike Evans, who is set to hit the open market, had his best season in years under new Panthers HC Dave Canales.

With new head coach Dave Canales leading the transition, the Carolina Panthers have completely overhauled their offensive staff this winter. And with new faces comes new connections for the organization.

Here are 13 pending offensive free agents, in areas of particular need, with ties to Canales’ staff:

Predicting where 10 Seahawks players will land in free agency

Here are our predictions for 10 Seahawks free agents and where they will end up signing.

Free agency is almost upon us. In less than three weeks the NFL’s legal tamperiod period window will open and teams can begin negotiating with agents who represent free agents. The Seahawks have several key players who are about to hit the market, including seven on Pro Football Focus’ list of the top 150 this year. Odds are they won’t be able to keep all of them and there are a few who they should allow to leave.

Let’s see if we can guess where they’re headed. Here are our predictions for 10 Seahawks free agents and where they will end up signing.

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7 Tight ends the Vikings should pursue in free agency

Do the Minnesota Vikings sign a tight end to fill in for T.J. Hockenson? From Noah Fant to Hunter Henry, these 7 options are intriguing

The Minnesota Vikings are in an interesting position at tight end going into free agency. They theoretically are set with T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver as the top two tight ends in the room. However, that is murky for 2024 with the torn ACL suffered on Christmas Eve by Hockenson since he didn’t have surgery to repair the injury until the end of January.

What should the Vikings do at the position? If they plan on redshirting Hockenson, would they end up signing a bridge player to get them through 2024? Do they choose to bring back Johnny Mundt and ride with the three guys in the room?

With how general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has pursued things so far, a bridge tight end makes a lot of sense. Here are seven different tight ends that could fit the bill and be that bridge player.

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent tight ends

Top tight ends hitting free agency this offseason:

Even after last year’s signing of Hayden Hurst, could the Carolina Panthers be in the market for a new tight end?

If so, here are some of the best that free agency has to offer:

10 pending free agents the Seahawks should allow to leave in 2024

To begin the overhaul, they’ll have to start by shedding some serious dead weight in the trenches.

We have many hopes for whoever comes in to replace Pete Carroll as the next Seattle Seahawks head coach. At the top of our list is a desire that he places a far greater priority on offensive line play than his predecessor ever did. Carroll has an unmatched eye for defensive back talent and a rare gift more motivating his players, but he always seemed to have a blind spot for the offensive line. The truth is this unit underperformed in practically every season during Carroll’s run as head coach – and it’s something that needs to change.

This offseason above all else we hope to see a genuine investment in this unit at a level that we never saw under Carroll. To begin the overhaul, they’ll have to start by shedding some serious dead weight in the trenches. Here are 10 pending free agents we believe Seattle should allow to walk.

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Best and worst PFF grades for Seattle from loss to Pittsburgh

The Seahawks lost to the Steelers because they couldn’t tackle – especially on the back end of their defense.

The Seahawks lost to the Steelers because they couldn’t tackle – especially on the back end of their defense. While Devon Witherspoon made one impressive TFL in the third quarter, otherwise he was completely hapless trying to bring down any ball-carriers for Pittsburgh. The same case was true for practically everybody else on Seattle’s secondary. Pro Football Focus agrees, giving them all gruesome grades as tacklers this week.

On the other side of the ball, the biggest issue was bad pass protection. While Geno Smith was able to mitigate the worst of it with a great game, all that pressure kept a low lid on what the offense was able to do. As is appropriate, PFF gave exceptionally poor pass blocking grades to the Seahawks offensive line, especially their offensive tackles.

Here are the top and bottom five performers on both sides of the ball this week, according to PFF’s grades.

Studs and duds for the Seahawks from their loss to the Steelers

The Seahawks did get some silver linings during the storm, most of them coming on offense

The Seattle Seahawks’ missed tackle problem has finally done them in and in the process it may have killed their chances of making the playoffs. Today’s 30-23 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers was an embarrassing showcase from a team that supposedly prides itself on toughness and is led by a defense-first, potentially future Hall of Fame head coach.

Then again, the Seahawks did get some silver linings during the storm. Most of them came on offense, which is having to carry a low energy, poor effort defensive unit. Here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh.

8 Seahawks highlights from New Year’s Eve loss to Steelers

Along the way, we got to see some impressive catches by DK Metcalf, a massive game from Noah Fant and several memorable runs by Ken Walker.

The Seahawks lost a huge home game today to the Steelers, 30-23. However, there were some bright flashes from Seattle’s loaded group of young skill players. Along the way, we got to see some impressive catches by DK Metcalf, a massive game from tight end Noah Fant and several memorable runs by Ken Walker.

Here are the top plays of the day for Seattle.

Geno Smith passes for three touchdowns in seven seconds, and the third actually counted

The Seahawks threw three touchdown passes at the end of the first half against the Cowboys, and the last one actually counted!

The Seattle Seahawks had a 21-20 lead over the Dallas Cowboys at the half of their Thursday night game, which made them the first Cowboys opponent to lead Dallas at halftime in Dallas.

Not that it was easy. With 11 seconds left in the first half, Geno Smith hit receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for that looked like a 30-yard touchdown. But after a replay review by referee Clete Blakeman in which Blakeman had time to binge every season of “Succession,” it was determined that Smith-Njigba did not have control of the catch.

Then, it looked as if Smith hit tight end Noah Fant for a one-yard touchdown, but Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called time out just in time.

And then, finally and mercifully, with seven seconds left on the clock, Smith’s one-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf.

Sadly for the Seahawks, the NFL Rule Book states that a team can only score one touchdown per drive, but Seattle gave it their best.

Seahawks tight ends preaching patience, per Will Dissly

Seahawks tight ends preaching patience, per Will Dissly

The Seattle Seahawks’ offense has been incredibly frustrating as of late. What makes it especially frustrating is how deeply talented this unit is, and the fact said talent is being underutilized.

It is not just the receivers who are being underutilized – like rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba – but Seattle’s tight end group. I have long been an advocate for using Noah Fant more, but it is not just him. Between Fant, Will Dissly and Coly Parkinson, this position group has not been used to their full potential. As such, not one Seahawks tight end has caught a touchdown this season.

Let me repeat: not one Seahawks tight end has caught a touchdown this season.

As frustrating as that is, the good news is the Seattle tight ends seem to be handling it well. Dissly himself took to the media to explain the group is patient.

Simply put, the Seahawks need to get more creative on offense. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron needs to start figuring out how to incorporate his plethora of weapons and calling plays to get them far more involved.

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